One Night in Bangkok
by Phoenix-cry
Summary: A mission on a Japanese influenced world goes awry and the team is exposed to a Goa'uld chemical of unknown properties. Back home emotions are starting to run high and when the team goes AWOL the SGC is left with a problem that goes beyond SG-1
1. Chapter 1

NOTE from the Phoenix: I'm in the mood to do some 'old school' SG-1 so this is somewhere around season three or so. I'm not going to go looking up everything and what order events were in so don't bug me if I get a detail wrong here or there when it comes to the 'Time Line'. The big things are that Daniel has not Ascended, General Hammond is still around, I'm thinking Carter will be a Major at this point, and the Goa'uld are still a big problem, but not a whole lot is know about them. Got it? Okay then, off we go! Enjoy!

PS- I used an on-line translator to get the Japanese in this, so forgive me if you read Japanese and it says strange things I do not speak the language myself. I want you to be as lost as the rest of the team when it comes to the Japanese. You get all you need to know from what Daniel tells the team.

**One Night in Bangkok**

Chapter One

"Carter, how long are you going to have to wear those glasses?"

"Another week at least, until the photosensitivity is under control."

"I told you not to touch that thing." Jack clucked.

"No, as I recall you said: 'Carter, figure out what this thing does.'. I did exactly that and found that it produces a painfully bright flash."

Sitting at a table in the commons Sam looked over her coffee cup at Jack through a pair of small nearly black glasses. They had little black leather pieces at the sides of the frames to keep light from shining in through the sides. Jack was eating some scrambled eggs but he paused as he sensed the look he was getting through the dark lenses.

"So...this is my fault?" Jack asked innocently.

"Sort of."

"Well, maybe you should sit this next mission out." Jack said seriously.

"I'll be fine, Sir."

"I was more worried about me." Jack corrected. "Being blind and all…"

"I'm not blind, in fact I see perfectly in the dark right now."

"Whatever, I'd hate for you to accidentally shoot me."

"Sir, if I shoot you it won't be an accident." Sam replied with a sweet smile.

Jack chuckled and went back to eating his breakfast. Teal'c had been sitting at the small table as well, silent observing the exchange. Glancing over at him Jack wondered if the aloof Jaffa was ever going to learn to smile. Teal'c did not notice the look he was getting an continued to eat his breakfast as though it was a chore.

"Hey, anyone seen Daniel?" Jack asked looking around. "We're due off world in like two hours."

"I think he's brushing up on his Japanese." Sam answered.

"Brushing up?"

"When you know twenty plus languages they can get rusty." Daniel announced as he stepped up behind Jack.

"Carter, I thought you said you weren't blind." Jack accused. "You let Daniel sneak up on me."

"There is a bright light in the ceiling behind you that I don't like looking into."

"I still say you're not ready for the field."

"Janet cleared me, I'll be fine." Sam said. "Besides we don't even know if there is anyone on this planet."

"Good point," Jack nodded and turned to Daniel "Daniel, how do know

what language they speak when we don't even know if anyone is there?"

"The MALP showed an arched stone bridge that looks like classic Japanese architecture…which brings me to a favour that I'd like to ask, Jack."

"Daniel, I'm not big on favours."

"I know." Daniel sighed. "I just wanted to ask you to please not embarrass us on this mission."

"Embarrass?"

"If this is a Japanese culture they will have a lot of rules regarding proper manners and respect."

"You don't think I have good etiquette?" Jack asked with a look of mock indignity.

"You have not exactly shown patients for such things in the past."

"Plus you do have your elbows on the table, Sir." Sam chuckled.

Jack looked down at where his elbows were resting on the table. Making of show of removing them he crossed his hands in his lap and smiled brightly.

"Please, Jack," Daniel practically begged "if we are going to make any friends out in the galaxy we have to work on making these sorts of interactions as…pleasant for everyone involved as possible."

"Daniel, you're starting to sound like my mother during one of her 'best behaviour' speeches. Calm down."

Daniel took a breath to say more, but decided that it was a waste of time. Sam chuckled at his frustration while Teal'c, having finished his breakfast, simply watched the pair. Having said his peace Daniel felt he'd done all he could for the situation.

A few hours later the team stood at the base of the ramp waiting for the Gate to dial. Looking somewhat bored Jack double checked his weapon. When the Gate opened the team marched up the ramp and through the event horizon.

On the other side the sun was shining brightly on a beautiful spring day. The heavy scent of cherry blossoms hung in the still air around them. The lawn they were standing on was clearly care for by a loving hand and although very organic in design the garden looked like every stone and plant had been put in place by man. It was too perfect to just be wild grown.

"It's beautiful." Sam noted as she pushed her dark glassed further up on the bridge of her nose.

"Yeah, well beautiful things tend to be dangerous so keep a sharp eye out." Jack grumbled. "It wouldn't be the first time we'd been lured into a trap by well manicured lawn."

"Jack's right," Daniel agreed "we should step carefully here."

"Wait…I'm right?" Jack repeated in surprise. "What about 'let's make friends'?"

"I'm not saying we shouldn't try and be peaceful, but the carvings on that stone proclaim this to area to belong to a daimyo."

"What's a daimyo?" Sam asked.

"In feudal Japan daimyo were powerful, and very territorial lords. He may not take kindly to strangers showing up in his garden."

"Great, you could have mentioned that befo…"

"O'Neill," Teal'c interrupted "someone approaches."

Jack looked over towards the bridge and found a woman of Asian decent crossing over the round stone bridge. Her restrictive silk dress kept her footsteps small. The long sleeves had almost wing like extensions that hung nearly to the ground and flapped as she walked towards them.

"That's a furisode robe." Daniel remarked.

"What does that mean?"

"It means we are being given a very formal and practically royal welcome. She is going to come up and bow to us, it is very important that we return it. Keep your hands at your side, except you Sam, you'll be expected to clasp your hands in front of your lap. Bend at the waist to about a thirty degree angle and don't hold it more than five seconds."

"Daniel, this is too complicated." Jack grumbled. "Let's just say 'Hi'."

Daniel glared at Jack and went to say something when the woman was suddenly upon them. As predicted she gave them a deep bow with her hands in her lap. Although Teal'c and Sam tried to return the gesture Daniel was the only one who managed it with what the woman would have considered grace. Jack didn't even attempt the greeting. After taking a quick look at her guests the woman decided to speak directly to Daniel.

"バンコクへようこそ."

"Uh, Daniel, you catch that?" Jack asked.

"Yes. She says 'welcome to Bangkok'." Daniel replied and turned back to her. "ありがとうございました. Thank you."

Upon hearing her own language the woman smiled shyly and bowed once more which Daniel also repeated. Jack watched the pair as they held a long conversation that ended in another round of bowing. Jack rolled his eyes.

"Daniel, anything you wish you share with the whole class?"

"She says her name is Tsuyayaka."

"That's quite the name."

"It means 'beautiful'."

"That's just great." Jack replied unimpressed. "Anything else of importance?"

"彼が私の不満はありますか?" Tsuyayaka asked meekly as she gave Jack a sideways glance.

"いや、彼はあなたの方法を知っていることはありません." Daniel replied apologetically with a reassuring smile.

"Okay, this is just annoying." Jack huffed. "Let's go home, SG-5 has two members that speak Japanese. We'll let them deal with this."

"Only Brent speaks Japanese." Daniel corrected. "Kyle is Chinese, besides he was born in Detroit and only speaks English."

"Oh that's right, we were arguing hockey the other day and he's a Red Wings fan." Jack mused to himself. "Whatever, sounds like a job for them anyway, I don't see any Goa'uld influence around here, what about you Teal'c?"

"A world ruled by a Goa'uld would most certainly have a Jaffa guard at the Stargate." Teal'c said.

"私は夕食会にご参加の場合は私たちの名誉と依頼するように指示されている." Tsuyayaka asked politely.

"私たち光栄になる." Daniel replied.

"ありがとうございました." She said with another bow.

"Daniel, what are you telling her?" Jack asked nervously.

"She asked us to join her for dinner, and I said we would be honored."

"Da…"

"Come on, Jack, this is an amazing chance to see into what life was like in the high society of feudal Japan. Just one night."

"One night in Bangkok…why does that sound familiar?"

"It's a song, Sir." Sam provided.

"That's right, something about chess and sex, and something about having to be careful about your company…and oysters, I recall the song said something about oysters. Sounds like a dangerous place, I hate oysters. Let's just go home."

"We just got here." Daniel protested. "Besides this isn't that Bangkok, Jack."

"How can you be so sure?"

"You're kidding right?" Daniel asked exasperated.

"No."

"Jack…" Daniel sighed heavily. "First of all that's just a song. Secondly Bangkok is in Thailand, not Japan."

"Really?"

"Really." Daniel replied dryly. "The name is just a coincidence."

Jack looked around the beautiful garden and then at the woman who had greeted them. Seeing that she was being looked at she instantly dropped her eyes to the ground and bowed once more. Jack shook his head sadly and then looked to the rest of the team. Teal'c looked ambivalent to the situation and he already knew Daniel's opinion. Although Sam's eyes were hidden behind the dark glasses she still had a slight smile at the corners of her lips.

"Carter, any thoughts?"

"I don't think we are in any danger here, Sir. We should at least stay long enough to bring back some sort of report to General Hammond."

"Alright, fine, one night in Bangkok…not a minute more."


	2. Chapter 2

NOTE from the Phoenix: A few people have mentioned that they can't see the symbols so I have dropped that aspect of the story for the moment to keep the 'little boxes' from distracting people. Sorry I haven't updated this as quickly as my last story.

Chapter Two

"I don't think I can take anymore of this."

"Sssh."

"Daniel, honestly, this is painful." Jack continued to complain. "What the hell is going on?"

"I already told you, they are going to put on a play."

"When? We've been sitting on the floor for hours."

Daniel closed his eye and looked as though he was mentally counting to ten. Sam smiled to herself, it had really only been about twenty minutes since they'd been brought to the small theater. Jack grumbled again and shifted his weight on the pillow he was sitting on. Teal'c looked like he had slipped into Kel'no'reem, however he was paying full attention.

The sourceless light that illuminated the room from behind the white paper walls dimmed slightly. The stage in front of them was only elevated a few inches above the floor and had a black lacquer floor. There were about a dozen audience members all of whom had been introduced with what Jack had commented as a 'back breaking amount of bowing'. Daniel seemed to be spending a lot of his time apologizing to the natives, but at the same time he didn't seem to mind.

As the stage lights grew brighter a beautiful piece of sky blue silk fell from the ceiling and spread out as the backdrop to the stage. The blue silk fluttered as if in a light breeze and a very simple stringed musical instrument began to play. Two men in an ornate gold and green dragon costume leapt out onto the stage. All that could be seen were their legs as they danced and weaved the dragon around the stage. A young woman was sitting off to the side and began narrating the action.

"One day Dragon was flying high above the country side…" Daniel whispered.

"Daniel, what the hell are you babbling about?" Jack muttered.

"I'm translating the story for you."

"I don't care about the story."

"You're not the only person here that doesn't speak Japanese, Jack."

Jack looked to either side and saw that the action seemed to have Sam and Teal'c's attention. Crossing his arms he gave in and watched along with the rest. Trying to get a better view of the play Sam tried to take off her dark glasses, but even in the dim light she had to put them back on as the gold on the costume glinted brightly.

Dragon danced around the stage and whirled with what seemed like irritation. The pearls that made up his beard made a rattling sound as he shook his head and swooped back and forth. Coming to a rest he hung his head low in depression. Dragon jumped back up and addressed the crowd.

"What am I to do?" Daniel translated directly. "The Lord God is going to hold his banquet to determine the placement of the Animals in the Heavens tomorrow and I am not assured of my place!"

A young child jumped out onto the stage with a large flag that held a painting of a Rat.

"I am clever…" Daniel the Dragon mused. "however, Rat is also clever, perhaps more clever than I."

As the young child ran off stage he was replace by another with a banner of a Tiger.

"I have sharp claws…however Tiger has claws as well, and such handsome stripes."

The next banner carrier ran by with an Ox symbol.

"Yes, I am strong," Dragon sighed "but there are none stronger than Ox."

A young child with the silk banner of Rabbit bounced around the stage and was quickly followed by Horse.

"I am fast, but Rabbit is swift and so gentle of heart. Horse is also fleet footed and has such a wonderful flowing mane!" Dragon huffed in frustration. "Does nothing make me special? What of my scales?"

Just then a child with a banner of Snake came running across Dragon's path.

"Oh Snake, your scales are so much brighter and shiner than mine! What am I going to do? How will Lord God notice me?"

Dragon danced around gracefully for a moment and then suddenly another silk dropped from the ceiling against the backdrop of blue silk. Painted on the silk was Rooster, but not as the SG-1 team knew Rooster. This Rooster held brightly coloured shiny feathers, a magnificent comb, and most notably a huge set of golden antlers on his head. The silk painting of the Rooster fell to the floor.

"Yes!" Daniel Dragon cried happily. "Rooster! Rooster will help me! Surly he will lend me his golden antlers for the banquet, the Lord God will surly notice me if I have those wonderful horns, and I will get the best placement. I must ask him at once!"

Dragon swooped off the stage and the blue silk dropped to the floor to be quickly followed by a light green one. A man dressed in fine iridescent feathers with a huge tail and the all important golden horns came strutting out onto the stage. He danced and ruffled his feathers so that they sparkled in the dim light. A woman who was wearing a soft coat of puffy cotton joined him and bowed deeply.

"Oh Rooster, surely you will be placed highest in the Heavens." Daniel spoke for the woman.

"Sheep, you will be right at my side for your kind heart and creative mind." Rooster proclaimed.

"I would be honoured to have even the lowest place in the Heavens." Sheep blushed.

"Which is why you will have a higher standing."

"Thank you Rooster, it is your generosity that will bring you the highest place in the Heavens."

Sheep bowed low to the ground, touching her forehead to the ground with her fluffy tail facing the audience. Sam gave Jack a nudge as she caught him tilting his head to get a better look up Sheep's skirt. Jack gave her an innocent look.

Dragon came back out on the stage and the two men in the costume managed a perfect bow of respect. Rooster was shocked to have Dragon as a visitor and quickly returned the gesture. The dancers went into a dazzling display of skill before settling down again.

"Great Dragon, it is an honour to be visited by such a powerful creature." Rooster said.

"The honour is mine to be in the company of such a stunning creature such as yourself Rooster."

"You flatter me."

"Not at all." Dragon purred. "Look at your feathers! No bird boasts feathers as shiny and soft as yours!"

"Dragon your eyes are jewels on fire."

"And your comb," Dragon continued "such a royal crown for such a royal creature."

"My dear Dragon, you are royalty," Rooster blushed "you are the one who puts the moon to bed at morning and cause the rains to fall upon the land."

"It is true, I do work hard." The Dragon said off handedly. "However…I fear for my place in the Heavens, I fear I may be overlooked because I am so plain."

"The Lord God would never over look a creature as magnificent as you!" Rooster crowed.

"But I have no one trait to catch his eye…such as your stunning golden antlers."

Rooster instantly places his feathered hands to his golden horns. It is clear that he is proud of them and strokes them lovingly. Dragon gets up and curls around Rooster and strokes his feathers.

"Rooster, please, may I borrow your golden horns for the banquet?"

"My horns?"

"Yes, just for the night."

"I don't know…" Rooster balked.

"Rooster, you have feathers beyond any other, a comb any King would envy…and…and such a lovely signing voice."

"Yes, yes, true, true." Rooster nodded. "Dragon, you may borrow my horns so that the Lord God will notice us both."

"Yes! Thank you!" Dragon cried. "Call for me when I put the moon to bed in the morning after the banquet and I will return your horns to you."

The Rooster removed his horns and placed them on Dragon's head. The next half hour of the play was an amazing display of dance and costume. The banquet held two dozen different animals that displayed their traits to the audience in a bid to earn their place in the Heavens. In the end twelve were chosen and lined up in order of their place. The narrator spoke once again.

"Rat was awarded first place for his clever praise of the Lord God, Ox was next for his strength, Tiger was third for his courage, Rabbit for her heart, Dragon was awarded fifth place for his service, Snake, Horse, Sheep, and Monkey all got their place before Rooster, leaving Dog and Boar last. Rooster did not mind his place and was pleased to have made it into the Heavens and was proud of how well his friend Sheep had done."

The scene return to the light green silk of the Rooster's home. Rooster was agitated and as the lights went from the light of day to the darkness of night he became more and more upset. Three days passed and the Dragon had not returned the Rooster's golden antlers to him. As the sun rose on the fourth day Rooster threw his head back and cried to the Heavens.

"Lung-k'o-k'o-huan-wo!" The actor on stage cried in anguish like a rooster crowing at dawn.

"Dragon!" Daniel translated. "Please, return my horns!!"

The play ended with Rooster crying on the floor, Dragon never returned his horns. The narrator explained that this was not only how Dragon got his horns, but why the Rooster crows every morning at dawn. Rooster is forever begging Dragon to give him back his lost golden horns. No one knows why Dragon never return them since he is such an honourable creature, perhaps he felt he would be too plain and fall out of the Lord God's favour without them.

When the play was over the actors did not come out for adulations. The lights were simply turned up and Tsuyayaka asked Daniel if the play was satisfactory. Daniel spoke with his new friend and assured her that they all enjoyed it. Tsuyayaka smiled and excused herself for a moment.

"You know what that story teaches me, Daniel?" Jack asked.

"That even the best of people can fall to vanity now and then?" Daniel replied hopefully.

"No, it teaches me to trust no one. Can we go home now?"

"You know what is odd about it?" Daniel mused, dismissing Jack's request.

"It's a Chinese story, isn't it?" Sam answered.

"That's right." Daniel nodded. "That is a story about the Chinese Zodiac. Even stranger is that the Dragon in this story had four toes."

"You were counting the dragon's toes?" Jack asked with a raised eyebrow.

"The number of toes tells you where a Dragon is from, Chinese Dragons have five toes, Japanese Dragons have three toes. It's the Korean Dragons that have four toes. Dragons loose or gain toes depending on what direction he flies."

"So the Dragon has an extra toe…who cares?"

"I just find it odd that here we are in what at first appeared to be a pure Japanese culture, and yet they have Chinese stories with a Korean twist. Considering how war like and traditional the different Asian cultures tended to be back in feudal times it seems unlikely to find a mixture of them here."

Before the team could think about this discovery further Tsuyayaka returned and bowed deeply to Daniel. She had changed into a more simple kimono. She asked Daniel a question that caused him to pause. Jack looked around suspiciously and noticed that the rest of the audience had disappeared. Jack whispered to Teal'c to keep a sharp eye out and the silent Jaffa nodded.

"Daniel, what does Takasuku want?"

"Tsuyayaka." Daniel corrected. "She is asking if we would like to bathe and change clothing before tea."

"No." Jack said instantly.

"Ja…"

"No." Jack repeated. "Tell her we are far more comfortable in our 'native garb' and we really should be going anyway."

"Jack a tea ceremony is a very sacred event and honestly I don't want to miss a true traditional tea ceremony, they are beautiful."

"I don't like to drink liquids from strangers."

"Jack, if they wanted to hurt us they wouldn't go to the trouble of a tea ceremony." Daniel looked to Sam. "Sam, help me out here."

"Don't drag Carter into this, she's a coffee drinker anyway."

"I like tea as well, Sir, very calming." Sam said.

"Jack…please." Daniel smiled brightly. "You said we could stay one night, and it had only been a few hours."

"Fine." Jack sighed. "But I'm warning you I don't know how much more boredom I can take."

"Don't think of it as being bored, think of it as being relaxed."

"I'll relax when we are home safe and sound."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three

"This is just beautiful."

"Don't encourage him, Carter."

Sam smiled as Daniel rolled his eyes and shook his head sadly. After they had agreed to stay for the tea ceremony Tsuyayaka had lead them to a secluded garden that was surrounded by a small bamboo forest. Sam walked over to the edge of the near by pond that held a pleasant waterfall. Brightly colour koi swam up to her and mouthed at the surface hungrily. Their round mouths held long flowing barbs of flesh at each corner.

"These fish have whiskers." Sam noted.

"When the koi turn into dragons they keep those whiskers," Daniel said as he joined Sam by the pond "which is why Asian dragons have them, they were once all koi that managed to swim up and over the Dragon's Gate waterfall."

"Daniel," Jack sighed "the amount of useless information in your head astonishes me."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"It's not."

Daniel narrowed his eyes slightly but just as quickly brushed off Jack's comment. Sam often wondered what it would really take to get under Daniel's skin, he never seemed to get truly angry no matter how much Jack baited him. He always seemed to just shrug it off.

"Colonel O'Neill." Teal'c grumbled.

"Yeah?"

"We are being watched."

"Is that so?"

Teal'c nodded and looked over in the direction of the house they had watched the play in. Up on the tiled roof was a slender man with a strong build watching them. He made no attempt to hide or pretend to look away. In his hand he held a long spear with what looked to be a white horse tail attached to it just below the knife shaped point. However it was his odd clothing that caught Jack's attention first.

"Daniel, care to explain why a man in a Speedo is watching us?"

"It's not a Speedo, it's a fundoshi. Traditional Japanese underwear."

"Okay, why is a man in his underwear watching us?"

"That I can't answer. I'm guessing he's a guard of some sort. Don't worry about him."

"What if he throws that spear at us?"

"I'd suggest stepping aside." Daniel shrugged. "It's not a throwing spear, it's a yari used for close combat and since you still have your gun I think you can win if he decides to pick a fight with us."

Jack thought about this for a moment and realized that Daniel had a point. He still had Teal'c keep an eye on their watcher. Daniel was undisturbed by the armed man and instead walked over to a stone basin that had a little cup with a long straight handle, both carved of ivory. He drew a cup of the water and took a sip before using the rest to rinse his hands. He dipped the cup back in the clear water and offered it to Sam.

"It's okay, I'm not thirsty."

"It's tradition to rinse your mouth and hands before the ceremony." Daniel explained.

"Ah, in that case."

"This is silly." Jack commented as Sam handed him the cup.

"Humour me, Jack." Daniel said.

"I've been humouring you since I met you."

"Jack…what has gotten into you?" Daniel asked seriously. "I mean we rarely see eye to eye, but you're not usually this confrontational about it. All of a sudden I can't say anything without you barking at me."

"This place gives me the creeps."

"It's beautiful and peaceful here."

"Yeah, maybe that's what's wrong with it."

Before the argument could escalate Tsuyayaka came back into the garden to let Daniel know that everything was ready for the ceremony. She had given up on addressing anyone else and only offered the others shallow bows. Their host led them down the roji, literally 'dewy path', a beautiful garden path that held lush plants. The tea house was a small building with a high pitched roof with black tiles on it.

At the doorless entryway Daniel told everyone to take off their shoes. Once inside Tsuyayaka led Daniel to the place of honour in front of the small square hearth that was set into the bamboo floor. He knelt on the floor in the traditional seiza position which caused Tsuyayaka to smile. Daniel asked the others to join him and to just do as he did without question.

Tsuyayaka knelt on the far side of the hearth. She had a few instruments in front of her including a whisk and a spoon, each of which was cleaned and placed in order on the floor in from of her. After wiping out a thin walled bowl with a linen cloth she picked up an ivory spoon and placed a fine green powder in it from a gold box. She filled the ornate bowl with hot water from a cast iron pot that was in the hearth. The pot had a detailed dragon etched into its side. Picking up the whisk she began to mix the power and water into a light green tea.

"Daniel," Jack whispered "that doesn't look like any tea I've ever seen."

"It's 'matcha'." Daniel hissed in return. "It's powdered green tea."

"If it's drugged I'm going to kill you."

"It's not drugged."

"Is she going to drink first?"

"No."

"Then how do you kno…"

"Sssh."

Jack did not enjoy being shushed, but he settled into silence. Tsuyayaka finished her tea making and offered the bowl to Daniel with both hands and a slight bow. Daniel returned the gesture and took the bowl, facing Jack he gave him a quick bow before lifting the bowl up slightly. He carefully turned the bowl in his hands so that he didn't drink from the side that had been offered to him and took a sip. He looked to Tsuyayaka and said a quick phrase in Japanese.

"To friendship and trust." Daniel repeated in English for the others.

Daniel took two more small sips before wiping the edge of the bowl with a cloth that Tsuyayaka handed him. He rotated the bowl back to its original position and with a shallow bow handed it to Jack. Forcing a smile Jack tried to mimic Daniel's motions before handing the bowl to Teal'c and from there to Sam. In the end Teal'c was the only who got the ceremony completely correct. Sam handed the bowl back to Tsuyayaka and their host cleaned the utensils. After they were clean Daniel asked to see them and began to pass the whisk to Jack.

"Pretend to look interested, it is polite." Daniel explained. "And be careful, these tend to be handmade family heirlooms."

"So I probably shouldn't spit on it?"

Daniel didn't grace Jack with a reply. After all of the instruments had been viewed by everyone Tsuyayaka gave them one final bow before leaving to put them away. Daniel looked around the simple room and smiled contently.

"So…how'd I do?" Jack teased.

"You forgot to bow and rotate the bowl, but other than that, not bad."

"Can we go home now?"

"I told Tsuyayaka we'd stay for dinner."

"Sushi?" Jack asked hopefully.

"Maybe."

"Excellent." Jack smiled brightly.

"You like sushi, Sir?" Sam asked.

"Love it."

The team was led back into the main house and to a simple dining room with a low table. Sitting on pillows once again they were offered some less formal tea. Tsuyayaka disappeared once again, presumably into the kitchen. Jack looked around, playing with the ebony chopsticks.

"I wonder who owns this house." Jack mused. "Does it seem odd to anyone else that there is just this single house here and that no one other than Tsunami has truly greeted us?"

"Tsuyayaka." Daniel corrected. "We're on an estate, Jack, there are other houses in the area they are just hidden from view away from the property and the house belongs to the daimyo."

"Okay, so where is he?"

"Out on business." Daniel replied instantly. "Tsuyayaka is in charge of the house hold while he is away and is treating us like honoured guests."

"How do you know that?"

"I used a time tested technique of 'Asking'."

"That never seems to work for me."

"Imagine that." Daniel said dryly.

Tsuyayaka returned to the table and sat on the far side. She and Daniel had a short conversation and for the first time their host chuckled. Several women dressed in fine silk came out with plates of food for the table. There was a sushi dish that had the finely sliced fish arranged on the plate to look like a bird. Everyone was given a small bowl of rice and a glass of thick guava juice.

"Once again we have a mix of cultures here." Daniel noted as food was served. "I see Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Korean, and the guava juice and lack of water at the table is often a Taiwanese tradition."

"I still don't see why that matters." Jack said.

"I'm not sure that it does matter…it's just odd."

"Well now that I'm here I'm starving, is there a 'polite' way to eat this?"

"Just make sure you slurp your soup." Daniel smiled.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"I can do that."

Jack and Daniel managed to put their previous tension aside and enjoyed the meal with the others. Sam spent a moment showing Teal'c how to use the chopsticks realizing that they had never taken him to a Chinese restaurant. Tsuyayaka joined them in the meal, however she said very little. Dinner was amazingly prepared and it wasn't long before everyone had eaten more than they had first planed on.

"Jack, don't stick your chopsticks upright in the rice like that, it's rude," Daniel informed "it looks too much like incense at a funeral."

"Just be grateful I haven't stuck them up my nose to show her my walrus impression."

"I'm extremely grateful, believe me."

Jack chuckled and reached over and removed his chopsticks from the rice and laid them down on his plate. The women returned and cleared the table before returning with small bowls of rice covered in an off white-yellow, mushy substance of some sort. Jack noticed the way that Daniel skin suddenly went ivory in colour.

"Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked. "Are you feeling ill?"

"Yeah, Daniel," Jack agreed "you suddenly look a little more pale than normal. What's up?"

Before Daniel could answer the dessert dishes were placed in front of them. Sam leaned forward with a delicate sniff and then reared back. Tsuyayaka giggled at Sam's reaction. Jack furrowed his brow and cautiously sniffed the dessert, but he didn't have the same aversion, to him it smelt almost of caramel.

"Daniel, what is this?"

"It's durian." Daniel sighed. "Sometimes called the King of Fruits."

"It smells…uh…unique." Sam commented as she looked at the dish warily.

"It is horrible. Tastes even worse." Daniel cringed. "In fact, it's not even a taste…it's an experience."

"What's it like?" Sam asked, clearly afraid of the answer.

"I don't know…uh…it's like…like being kicked in the face by an mule who has been walking through a rotting onion patch. Or like french kissing a zombie."

"Very poetic, Daniel." Sam forced a smile. "Do we have to eat it?"

"At the very least I shou…"

Daniel stopped and turned to look at Jack and Teal'c who were consuming the unusual dessert with what looked like true delight. Sam and Daniel both just stared at them in disbelief. Sam hesitantly picked up a small clump of durian soaked rice and brought it closer, but couldn't quite bring herself to try it. Jack noticed the look he was getting and paused his meal.

"What?"

"You like that?" Daniel asked.

"It's great, very sweet."

"Indeed." Teal'c agreed.

"Sir, you must have different taste buds than I do." Sam shook her head.

"It's good stuff." Jack looked at Daniel and smiled. "Come on, Daniel, don't be rude."

Daniel glared at Jack for a moment, but realized that Jack was right. Taking a deep breath was a mistake and just brought the fruit's rotting smell closer to his senses. Sam watched, her own stomach turning, as Daniel managed to take a single bite. Jack smiled brighter as he saw Daniel turning green around the gills.

"You'd better swallow it." Jack teased. "I can't imagine there is any proper way to spit into a napkin around here."

Daniel swallowed hard, but it was instantly apparent that he wasn't going to be able to keep the fruit down. He very quickly excused himself and dashed off towards the restroom. Jack reached over and stole the bowl of durian that Daniel had abandoned and started munching on it happily. In the background the team could hear Daniel being sick.

"You know, Carter, I am glad we stayed."

Sam couldn't help the smile that slipped across her lips. Teal'c asked her if she was going to try the fruit and in answer she handed the bowl over to him. When Daniel returned Tsuyayaka apologized. Daniel shook his head and apologized himself. With dessert cleared the women came out with several small bottle of chilled sake along with small wooden boxes that acted as cups.

"I thought sake was supposed to be served hot." Jack said.

"Technically 'sake' in Japan just means 'alcohol' this is nihonshu and high quality rice wine is often served chilled." Daniel replied. "I don't usually drink it, gives me a headache, but after that durian…"

Daniel reached out and picked up the wooden box full of sake and drained it. When he placed the wooden cup back down the women refilled it. Not one to say 'no' to an alcoholic beverage Jack joined in. Sam and Teal'c both sipped at the fine quality rice wine.

Tsuyayaka watched her guests drink and smiled sadly. Feeling a little off Jack shook his head. Putting the glass down he looked around the room and noticed that the edges of his vision seemed to be blurring. There was a wonderful warm feeling in his stomach that seemed to be seeping into his blood.

"This sake or nihon-whatever-you-want-to-call-it has one hell of a punch…" Jack slurred.

"I…I don't think it's the sake, Sir…" Sam panted as her breathing started to slow down.

The warm feeling in Jack's stomach suddenly turned to ice. He looked over at the rest of his team and noticed that they all seemed to be losing their focus. Daniel had drank the most and slowly lowered himself down to the floor to lay on his back as he started to pass out. Jack licked the bitter aftertaste of some kind of drug off his lips and glared at his half conscious friend.

"Damn it, Daniel…" Jack fought to stay awake.

"Jack, I'm sorr…"

"If I wake up…" Jack continued as he laid down "I…I am going to kill you."

"Yeah,…that's more than fair."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Daniel woke slowly without opening his eyes. This was a trick Jack had taught him, when waking from being drugged it was always best to let whoever drugged you think you were still sleeping while you tried to figure out what was going on around you. He was surprised by how often he'd had to use this technique over the past few years.

Daniel quickly determined that he was laying on his stomach on a soft surface, which was unusual because normally he woke up on stone or metal floors. A quick inspection of the dry feeling in his mouth with his tongue revealed a loosely tied silk gag. He felt with a little effort he could work it free, but he didn't try at the moment.

Holding his breath Daniel strained to listen for the sounds of his friends breathing or stirring nearby. The sound of gently running water was all that reached his senses at first. He tensed slightly at the subtle sound of someone moving.

_"I know you are awake."_ A female voice purred in Japanese. _"You might as well let me see your eyes."_

Knowing it was pointless to continue to play opossum Daniel opened his eyes. He sat up slowly, finding himself on a backless couch. His lightweight SG jacket had been pulled off and used to bind his hands behind his back. Just like the silk in his mouth the jacket had not been tied particularly tight and it wouldn't take much effort to escape.

_"The thirty seconds it would take you to free your hands would be more than enough for my samurai to slice your head off."_ The woman explained with a smile having seemingly read his thoughts.

Daniel looked over at his host who was lounging casually on a nearby bed. Heavy gold silk curtains hung on the wall behind the ornately carved ebony headboard. He knew instantly that she was Goa'uld even before he caught sight of her ribbon device. There was something about the smug expression on her face that revealed her true nature.

The Goa'uld wore a white and light pink silk dress that hugged her slender frame tightly at the chest with long slits up the sides that ran all the way up to her hips. Silver pins held her long black hair on top of her head and also held long strings of white and pink pearls. Her face had been painted ivory with a bright red stripe on her lips in typical geisha fashion. However Daniel was fairly certain that her similarity to the courtly geisha ended at the appearance.

Standing like a statue near the paper and wood sliding door was the Goa'uld's guard. He did not wear the symbol of a Jaffa, but he did have his hands resting lightly on the longer of his two swords. Looking back at the Goa'uld Daniel shifted his weight uncomfortably at the way she was starting at him. Getting up she walked over and sat down next to him, her dark almond shaped eyes locked on his sapphire ones.

_"Tsuyayaka has not disappointed me."_ The Goa'uld mused out loud. _"She saved your life, I was just going to have you all killed…but her curiosity about you infected me."_

Not even trying to speak Daniel just turned away from the Goa'uld in an attempt to look disinterested. He knew that nothing enraged a Goa'uld more than to be ignored. However the snake simply chuckled. She reached out and hooked her delicate pinky finger into the gag and worked it free so that it fell like a silk necklace. When he still didn't look at her she lightly touched his jaw and guided him to reestablish eye contact. She reached up and took off his glasses, casting them casually to the floor.

_"You don't fear me."_ She smiled.

_ "No."_

_ "Do you respect me?"_

_ "No."_

_ "Why not?"_ She asked seemingly unoffended.

_"Because I know what you really are."_ Daniel replied simply. _"You are no god, so I feel no need to respect you."_

_ "I never said I was a god. Besides do only gods deserve your respect? If so you must think extremely highly of yourself."_

Daniel furrowed his brow slightly. This was the first time he'd ever heard a Goa'uld even hint at the thought that they were not all powerful gods. He suddenly also noticed that she wasn't using the reverberating voice either. The Goa'uld smiled condescendingly at his confusion and ran her hand through his hair. Daniel jerked away from her touch causing her to laugh musically.

_"Are you Tok'ra?"_ Daniel asked.

_"No."_ The Goa'uld smiled brightly and switched to the more typical voice. _"I am Ryūjin"_

_"Which of course translates to 'dragon god'."_

_ "I am a true Dragon and you will show me the respect I deserve."_ Ryūjin whispered as she ran her hand down Daniel's chest.

_"You're acting a little more like a Cougar right now."_ Daniel snarled.

The Goa'uld clearly didn't understand the reference. Angered by his derision she flashed her eyes at him. She snaked the hand that held the ribbon device up his throat and face to press the oddly warm stone against his temple. When the stone started to glow Daniel weld his eyes shut and tried to hide the pain the stone was causing. Ryūjin smiled and watched as her prey started to pant for breath. When she stopped Daniel shook his head and quickly recovered. She hadn't done nearly as much damage as she could have, she was just playing with him.

_"What do you want?"_ Daniel hissed.

_"I want your eyes."_

Daniel was brought up short by this odd reply. He automatically turned to look at her in confusion. Ryūjin reached up with her unadorned hand and gently traced her fingertip under his eye. Worried that he was dealing with a Goa'uld that was even crazier than most Daniel leaned away from her slightly.

_"Uh…okay, I think my Japanese is rustier than I had thought."_ Daniel said. _"Did you just say that you want my eyes?"_

_ "Yes. Give me your sapphire eyes and I will let you and your friends go."_ Ryūjin replied with all sincerity. _"They are so beautiful, I've never seen anything like them. I must have them."_

_"You do realize that I'm not like the Rooster, I can't just 'give' them to you the way the Rooster gave the Dragon his golden horns. I'm fairly certain that if you pull them out of their sockets and put them in a jar or whatever that they are going to lose most of their charm."_

Ryūjin laughed again in genuine amusement. She got to her feet and once again ran her hand through Daniel's hair. His muscles tensed as she pressed her palm against his cheek, fearful that at any minute he was going to painfully lose his sight.

_"You are an amusing creature."_ Ryūjin said as she took her hand away. _"I do not physically desire to have your eyes, I simply wish for their colour. I will give you as many of my finest women as you can handle, and in turn you will give me at least a dozen offspring with blue eyes, six female, six male. Afterwards I will set you and your friends free."_

_ "Wha…what?"_ Daniel stuttered.

_ "You and your companions will be treated like honoured guests until the children are born and then you can make the decision on if you would rather return to your homeworld or remain here."_

Daniel was stunned into complete speechlessness by her bizarre request. It seemed even more out of the realm of reality than when he had thought that she wanted his eyes as a trinket for the mantle piece. Ryūjin smiled brightly once again, she turned to her guard and made a motion. He instantly opened the sliding door and Tsuyayaka stepped inside and bowed to the floor.

_"Since you already seem to enjoy Tsuyayaka's company she can be the first."_ Ryūjin announced.

Tsuyayaka didn't look to excited about the prospect of having Daniel's children and glanced at him apprehensively. He stared at her for a moment before shaking his head and getting to his feet. He went to free his hands but stopped when he noticed the way the samurai gripped the handle of his sword. Instead he just turned to Ryūjin.

_"Okay, first of all: this is insane."_ Daniel said simply. _"Second of all: genetics don't work like that. I could have a thousand children with Tsuyayaka and not a single one of them would end up having blue eyes."_

Daniel realized that he was over simplifying things. There was a slight chance that Tsuyayaka held a single recessive gene for blue eye colour. Although extremely unlikely there was a non zero chance of a blue eyes child. However, he was not interested in playing a game of genetic craps for the amusement of a Goa'uld.

Ryūjin thought about what Daniel had said for a moment, but it did not look like she believed him. Walking up to Daniel she stared into the eyes she so greatly desired with determination glittering in her own nearly black eyes. The self proclaimed Dragon was not used to being refused or even argued with.

_"You will give me these sapphire eyed children, they will be treated with love and receive the highest place of honor in my house hold. They will not even realize that they are slaves."_

_ "Even if I wanted to, which I don't, I can't help you."_ Daniel insisted. _"It's a recessive gene."_

_ "What does that mean?"_

_ "In order for my children to have blue eyes, their mother has to have them."_ Daniel simplified once again. _"Don't you think that if that wasn't true that at least some of the children in your world would have blue eyes?"_

Ryūjin narrowed her eyes to suspicious slits. Daniel's heart was racing as he watched her thoughts playing out across her face. The Goa'uld wasn't interested in looking foolish and if child after child ended up with dark eyes her lack of knowledge may be exposed. Daniel's blood flashed to ice as a sudden smirk touched the corners of Ryūjin's crimson lips.

_"Tsuyayaka?" _

_ "Yes, Dragon Mistress?"_

_ "What colour eyes does the female of this group have?"_ Ryūjin asked.

_"Sam has brown eyes."_ Daniel lied quickly.

_ "Is this true?"_ Ryūjin asked of her servant.

_"I do not know."_ Tsuyayaka replied. _"She wears dark glasses at all times."_

_"Take them from her and discover their colour for me..."_


	5. Chapter 5

NOTE from the Phoenix: Okay since a lot of people couldn't see the Japanese text and in this chapter Daniel isn't around to understand I've gone to an online dictionary that does Japanese phonetically and typed in each word one at a time. Which means that it probably makes NO sense. giggle. It's as good as it is going to get, hopefully it doesn't say anything obscene.

Chapter five

Jack woke slowly without opening his eyes to give him a chance to work out his new environment. The floor was cold and hard, nothing new there. What did distress him was how difficult it was to breath, it was like there was a weight on his chest. As he truly surfaced from the drug induced sleep he realized that there actually was something bearing down on his chest.

With his eyes still closed he took a deep breath. Green apples, he could smell green apples. That was good and bad news. The good news was that it must be Sam laying on top of him, her hair always smelled like apples from her shampoo. The bad news was that it was Sam laying on top of him, she was known for her violent wakening and he had the bite marks in his hand to prove it.

Not hearing anything of particular significance Jack decided to open his eyes. He lifted his head up slightly to scope out the situation. Sure enough Sam was sleeping soundly on his chest, drooling a small puddle onto his jacket. Unsure of what to do Jack thought about his options.

He decided to simply move her and hope that she didn't wake up until he was a safe distance away. Reaching up he had just put his hands on her shoulders when she gasped and snapped awake. Jack tensed in anticipation of her attack and for good reason. Before he could say anything Sam lashed out and caught him under the jaw with a powerful strike. She was about to go for his throat when he managed to catch her wrists.

"Carter!"

"Sir?" Sam asked in shock. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright, just get off me before you do any real damage."

"Yes, Sir."

Sam scrambled off Jack and pushed her dark glassed further up on the bridge of her nose. Jack sat up and rubbed ruefully at his sore jaw. Sam gave him a sheepish smile and he chuckled. The cell they were in was a simple one, stone floor and wall, no window just a set of bars on one wall. It was well lit by glowing alcoves in the hall.

"Well…isn't this new and different." Jack huffed. "Where's Daniel? I need to kill him."

"I don't know, Teal'c's not here either."

"I am present, Major Carter." Teal'c deep voice rumbled from the next cell over.

"You okay, big guy?" Jack asked.

"I am unharmed."

"Is Daniel with you?"

"He is not."

"Great." Jack sighed. "One night in Bangkok…what was I thinking?"

"What do you suppose they want?" Sam asked. "I mean why go to all that trouble to wine and dine us if this was going to be the result?"

"Who knows, Carter, maybe we accidently ate our dinners off the plate counterclockwise instead of clockwise or drank from the wrong side of the glass."

"I believe that we may be dealing with a Goa'uld, O'Neill." Teal'c announced.

"What makes you say that?"

"The bars are held shut by a Goa'uld panel rather than a true lock."

Jack got to his feet and started inspecting the bars that held them captive. He reached out and felt along the stone wall and found the panel that Teal'c had mentioned. After working with it for a few minutes he managed to yank it open and felt the crystals inside.

"Carter, can you spring this?"

"Do you have a mirror?" Sam asked.

"I have one on my compass," Jack replied as he patted down his jacket "but they took it."

"I can't reset the crystals if I can't watch the colour patterns change."

"Well, I guess we just have to hope that Daniel is talking us out of this."

Sam smiled sadly at the sarcasm in Jack's voice. Jack replaced the panel on the wall so that it didn't look like he'd been messing with it. Once he was done he turned his back on the bars and leaned against them casually. He didn't show even the slightest signs of fear or uneasiness. Jack's confidence helped Sam's own state of mind and she sat with her own back up against the wall and waited for some opportunity for escape.

"Colonel O'Neill," Teal'c said softly "someone is approaching."

"Company at last." Jack said cheerfully.

Pushing himself away from the bars Jack turned around to face the new comers. Tsuyayaka stepped in front of their cell and bowed slightly to them. Behind her were two strong men who stared forward blankly, waiting for orders. Jack raised an eyebrow in disapproval.

"Don't think for a second that I'm returning another one of your bows." Jack said. "For some reason I am not feeling very polite right now, don't know what put me in such a foul mood…oh wait maybe it was the part where you drugged my team."

"En gozen sumimasen." Tsuyayaka said meekly.

"I have no idea what you are saying, you took our translator away."

Tsuyayaka looked at Jack and nodded. Instead of speaking she simply pointed to Sam and beckoned her to come closer. Sam got to her feet, but Jack silently ordered her to stay back. Taking another step towards the bars Jack stared Tsuyayaka down like a junk yard dog daring someone to jump the fence into his territory.

"Where is Daniel?" Jack asked slowly.

Tsuyayaka shook her head and looked around Jack to point at Sam again.

"She's not going anywhere with you. Now let us out of here befo…"

Jack was cut off suddenly as Tsuyayaka lashed out with the speed of snake and struck his throat with deadly precision.

"Sir!" Sam cried as Jack staggered back coughing.

Jack tried to recover in time to help Sam, but the men with Tsuyayaka were lightning fast and were in the cell before he even realized the door had been opened. Another blow to the stomach brought Jack down to his knees. Sam was able to land a few good strikes on her two assailants, but in the small space they had the upper hand. They quickly had her by the wrists and forced her out into the hall.

Jack threw himself at the bars as they closed. Reaching through he managed to grab a handful of Tsuyayaka's long black hair. He went to yank her head into the heavy metal bars but before he got the chance he felt cold steel against his throat. Freezing solid he glanced over Tsuyayaka's shoulder and saw that one of her guards had drawn a short katana sword and had it pressed against his throat.

"I'm sorry, Carter." Jack sighed as he released Tsuyayaka.

"It's okay, Sir."

Tsuyayaka glanced at Jack with pure derision in her dark eyes. The guard pulled his sword away and bowed to her respectfully. Wordlessly Tsuyayaka turned to Sam and asked her a question that she had no hope of understanding. Sam just shook her head.

"I don't know what you want." Sam replied.

"En ketsubou tame mokushi goshujin metsuki." Tsuyayaka demanded.

"Only Daniel understands you." Jack said.

Tsuyayaka reached out to take Sam's glasses. Sam instinctively tried to lean away, but the man at her back held her tight. Closing her eyes against the painful light Sam had no choice but to allow Tsuyayaka to take the glasses.

"She needs those." Jack snarled.

"Kaihou goshujin metsuki!" Tsuyayaka snapped.

"I don't know what you want." Sam repeated.

"Metsuki!" Tsuyayaka said and pointed at her own eyes, a gesture Sam couldn't see.

"Leave her alone!" Jack cried.

Sam's heart started racing as she felt Tsuyayaka's delicate hands on her face. Being blind made her feel more vulnerable than having her arms pinned behind her back. When Tsuyayaka tried to pry Sam's eyes open she just weld them shut harder.

"What are you doing?!" Jack demanded. "Carter…"

Jack stopped suddenly and Sam assumed that he had the blade against his throat once again. Tsuyayaka succeeded in lifting up one of Sam's eyelids and allowed a searing light in. Sam cried out in pain and tore herself away from Tsuyayaka's hands. She couldn't see the triumphant smile that spread across the woman's face, but Jack did and it worried him.

"Aoi." Tsuyayaka breathed.

Sam struggled against her captors as they started to take her away.

"Wait!" Jack cried. "Tsuyayaka, at least give her glasses back."

Tsuyayaka paused and looked at Jack. He pointed at the glasses that still dangled from her hand. She thought about this for a moment and then nodded. She pushed the glasses back on Sam's face and then ordered the guards to move along.

"Major Carter," Teal'c said as she was marched by "do you see a red panel near the exit?"

"I think so…I'm still a little blind."

"If you can destroy it the lights will go out and you will have the upper hand."

"Got it."

There were only a few cells in the small prison area and it was not long before they were approaching the exit. On the wall next to the archway was a softly glowing panel. Sam started calculating the best way to ruin it. In the end she decided to use the grip her captor had on her to her advantage.

A few feet from the door Sam threw herself back into the guard and lifted both of her feet off the ground. The man instinctively held her tighter to try and gain control of her. Sam used the grip he had to help her kick in the panel with both feet. Having removed her shoes long ago the panel cut her heel, but it did break and the area was plunged into darkness.

The split second of confusion was all it took to allow Sam to twist out of the guard's hands. She ripped off her glasses and the darkness became like daylight for her. She knocked out the guard who had been holding her first and turned just in time to duck the sword of the second man.

He was swinging blindly in the dark, but was still dangerous. Crouched low she sprang up at him the next time he pulled back to swing. The pair were both driven to the ground and Sam managed to grab his sword wrist and with a quick motion she broke it. The man made no sound even as the bones snaped and still fought against her. Grabbing his long hair Sam pulled his head up and then slammed it into the stone floor.

Tsuyayaka tried to run, but in the darkness she tripped over her dress. Getting off the unconcious man Sam rushed at her, but Tsuyayaka was already back on her feet. Sam grabbed her shoulder and turned her around. Despite being blind Tsuyayaka lashed out with amazing skill. Sam received a painful strike to the face that caused blood to flow freely from her lip. She staggered back a few steps to reset her fight stance.

Instead of staying to fight Tsuyayaka fled down the hall. It was a dark maze to get to the stairs that lead back up to the house, but Tsuyayaka was familiar with the way. Sam went to follow her to keep her from raising the alarm.

"Carter!" Jack roared. "Don't you dare leave us here!"

"Sorry, Sir."

Sam turned around and felt something crunch under her barefoot. She cursed under her breath when she realized that she'd just stepped on her glasses. Daniel had spent years learning to protect his glasses and rarely broke them, but Sam wasn't used to having them at all, let alone being careful with them. Both lenses had broken and fallen out. Knowing they were now useless she dropped them and made her way back to the cells through what was pitch dark to Jack and Teal'c.

"Tsuyayaka got away, Sir, and I broke my glasses."

"Never mind that, just get us out of here."

Pulling the panel off the wall Sam was forced to squint against the harsh crystal light. Janet had told her that she was going to recover, but there was no telling if it was going to take a month or a year. It didn't take Sam long to short circuit the locking mechanism and Jack and Teal'c joined her.

"Okay, let's go home." Jack announced.

"Should we not endeavor to recover Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked.

"Oh alright," Jack sighed "if we have to."

"I should stay here," Sam said "I'm going to be a burden once we get back into the light."

"No way, you're coming with us."

Jack pulled off his lightweight jacket and tore a strip off it. He tied the end of one sleeve around his wrist and then groped in the darkness for Sam. She gave him her hand and he tied the other sleeve to her wrist. Taking the smaller strip of cloth he reached up and tied it around her head just above her eyes.

"When we get to the light pull that down." Jack instructed.

"Sir?"

"You lead us out of here, and I'll lead you the rest of the way."

Sam nodded even though Jack couldn't see the motion. She took Jack's free hand and put Teal'c's hand in it. Hurrying down the hall she told them when to lift up their feet to avoid tripping over the two guards that she'd knocked out. After a few twists and turns they came to the base of the stairs.

"Our weapons are here." Sam said.

"Excellent."

Sam handed Teal'c his staff weapon and gave Jack one of the P90s. Picking up a sidearm herself she checked the chamber. She brought them to the top of the stairs before pulling the blindfold down over her sensitive eyes. Sam opened the door slowly and light flooded onto the stair landing. Teal'c stepped out into the house first. Before leaving Jack caught sight of the sidearm in her hand.

"Can you fire that blind?" Jack asked doubtfully.

A slight sound on the stairs behind them caught Sam's ears. She turned and shot the guard that she had previously knocked out in the chest as he came up the stairs after them. Having awoken he had been sneaking up on them with his sword held high. The bullet tore through his heart and he tumbled back down the stairs. Jack's face lit up with a bright smile.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

_"Can we talk about this?"_

_ "Do you not enjoy sex?"_

_ "Wha…what? No…I mean…"_ Daniel stuttered uncomfortable. _"That really isn't the point here."_

_"What is the point?"_ Ryūjin asked seriously. _"I do not believe that I am requesting very much from you."_

_ "You're asking me to rape!"_

_ "Nonsense."_ Ryūjin smiled. _"Besides…I can ensure that any woman you touch becomes interested, even madly in love."_

Daniel furrowed his brow at Ryūjin's offer. She had a vulpine grin on her delicately featured face. She reached out to touch his face and he leaned back just enough to keep her from making contact.

_"Uh…yeah, thanks," _Daniel replied _"but no thanks."_

_"I love how you seem to think you have a choice in such matters. It's cute."_

_ "'Cute', there's an adjective I never thought I'd hear a Goa'uld use."_ Daniel muttered to himself.

A blinding flash of pain caught Daniel by surprise. It took his mind a second to realize that he had just been slapped across the face. Ryūjin's eyes were glowing white with an angry snarl on her painted face.

_"I am not a Goa'uld!"_ Ryūjin screamed in fury. _"I am a Dragon!"_

"What you are is crazy." Daniel said in English.

_"What did you just say?"_

_ "I was agreeing with you."_

Ryūjin didn't look like she believed Daniel, but didn't press the issue. Standing over him she reached down and took a hold of the silk gag that was still around his neck. Using it like a collar she guided him to his feet and out the door of the bedroom. Glancing over at the samurai that watched his master's every motion Daniel realized that disobedience at this moment in time would probably result in quickly losing his head.

Walking through the paper wall lined halls they started to make their way towards the center of the large building. Along the way Daniel took note of the environment and the few people that they came across. The wooden floors and ceiling gave the temple a very natural feel, as if it had grown into the forest this way just to house its inhabitants.

_"I haven't seen any Jaffa here_." Daniel commented hoping to get an explanation.

_"Jaffa do nothing more than breed competition in their bellies."_ Ryūjin shrugged. "_I am immortal, I have no need for children of my own. I see you keep the company of a Jaffa slave yourself."_

_ "He is free, and hopes to release the rest of his kind."_

_ "I wish him luck." _Ryūjin said sincerely. "_Hopefully you will be thoughtful enough to do as I have asked in order to allow him to continue on his noble cause." _

_ "We've already been through this, I can't give you blue eyed children."_

_ "I at least expect you to try."_

_ "Trust me, Sam would kill me if I even suggested it…if Jack didn't get to me first. We are very good friends, nothing more."_ Daniel insisted. _"Look, clearly you aren't like other Goa…uh…Dragons. Perhaps our two cultures could be friends?"_

Ryūjin acted as if she hadn't even heard him. She came to a sliding paper door that was opened for her by another samurai guard after he gave her a deep bow. She lead Daniel into the large room and then released the light one finger hold she'd had on his silk necklace.

While Ryūjin went over into the corner Daniel took a moment to look around. The room looked very ceremonial with a large cherry wood cabinet in the middle that had carved jade doors. The ceiling above was made of glass and showed Daniel that the sun was about to set. Off to the side of the six foot tall cabinet was a dish of sand on a gold stand that looked like a dragon.

The jade carving in the cabinet doors was nothing short of breath taking. It held hundreds of figures of people, all of which were intertwined with one another. The tiny faces of the figures held a myriad of emotions carved into their stone faces. There were acts of love, murder, violence, charity, destruction, healing, fear, the list when on. Daniel was so lost in the art work that he barely noticed when Ryūjin returned with two sticks of burning incense. She places the pungent sticks in the sand of the dish and stood beside her captive.

_"Amazing isn't it?"_

_ "It truly is."_

_ "Carved by a single hand."_

_ "It must have taken a lifetime."_

_ "More than you know."_ Ryūjin smiled. "_Having created what he felt would be the greatest masterpiece of his life the artist killed himself, for he had nothing more to live for."_

Daniel wasn't sure how to respond to this story so he just kept quiet. Ryūjin chuckled and stepped forward to open the cabinet. Inside were seven glass shelves and on each shelf was a orderly line of crystal containers. Each one held a slightly different coloured fluid and together they formed a perfect rainbow, starting with bright red on the top shelf and all the way to deep indigo on the bottom.

_"What is this?"_ Daniel asked.

_"My life's work."_ Ryūjin replied with pride. _"A collection of my tears. Dragon Tears."_

Once again Daniel wasn't sure what it was that he was supposed to say next. A disturbance outside the sliding doors kept him from having to come up with anything to say. Ryūjin calmly turned around and waited for her guard to inform her of what was going on.

When the door slid open Tsuyayaka stumbled in and rushed forward to fall at her Mistress's feet. Daniel noticed that her temple was bleeding heavily. Panting for breath she bowed with her head to the floor and apologized repeatedly.

_"Speak, Child."_ Ryūjin said calmly.

_"Forgive me, Dragon, the female indeed has blue eyes, however she is also very powerful with mastery over darkness."_ Tsuyayaka explained. _"She over powered two of the strongest guards and has escaped."_

_"It would appear as though some birds were not meant to be caged."_ Ryūjin chuckled. _"I respect her sprit, I must have a child of hers. I will see to it that they are found, I doubt that they will leave without this one."_

Daniel was unnerved by how calm Ryūjin was about the news of the jail break. He was far more used to Goa'uld who became disoriented by their rage at their own loyal servants. It was a lot easier to prey on the mistakes of someone blinded by rage. Instead Ryūjin just gave simple orders to her personal guard and turned back to the cabinet.

Tsuyayaka was still on the floor, looking more mortified by her failure than afraid of her master. Daniel glanced around and wondered if he could just make a run for it. The paper walls shouldn't give him much trouble if they were traditional and not some Goa'uld synthetic. While he decided on a direction Ryūjin selected one of the small bottles from the top shelf that held a blood red liquid.

_"You have no idea what an honour it is to receive a Dragon Tear. It is not a decision I make lightly." _

_ "What exactly is a Dragon Tear?"_ Daniel asked as he took a step back.

_"A very special…"_

Ryūjin was interrupted as Teal'c came crashing through the sliding doors rather than opening them. Tsuyayaka cried out in rage and sprang to her feet to defend her Mistress. Once again Ryūjin seemed unphased by the events, if anything she seemed amused. Jack quickly followed Teal'c, dragging Sam along by the end of the jacket that tied them together.

"I love these paper walls," Jack beamed "you can just go wherever you want."

"Jack…"

"Daniel…making friends I see."

_"Another step closer and I'll kill him."_ Ryūjin purred.

"What is she chattering about?" Jack asked.

"The usual." Daniel replied.

"'Come closer and I'll kill him'?" Jack guessed.

"Something like that."

Jack nodded and started to think through his options, knowing that he couldn't just fire on the Goa'uld because she'd just shield herself. Tsuyayaka had taken a defensive stance in front of Ryūjin and had her hands up in preparation to fight. The Goa'uld leaned in and whispered something into Tsuyayaka's ear. While Ryūjin was giving orders Daniel saw his chance. He had been working the loosely tied jacket around his wrists free the whole time.

His plan was to tear one of his hands free and make a grab for the Goa'uld's ribbon device. If he could rip it off her hand she'd be powerless and without a shield. Teal'c whispered an alert to Jack as more of the guards made their way to the center room. The palace had only seemed halfway deserted, it wouldn't be long before they were completely surrounded.

Knowing it was now or never Daniel sprung into action. Ryūjin caught the flash of motion as Daniel made his move. Acting on instinct she raised her hand device and sent a powerful pulse in Daniel's direction. The shock wave hit him in the chest and he stumbled backwards.

"Daniel!" Jack shouted.

Thrown into the cabinet Daniel crashed into the delicate glass shelving. There was a tremendous noise as the various bottle shattered against the floor. Teal'c fired his staff weapon at several guards that had infiltrated the hallway outside. Using the sounds of the staff weapon fire Sam also joined in, however there were far more enemies than anyone had counted on.

Even as the small army converged on them to save their Goa'uld Dragon Ryūjin still cried out in terror. She dropped the red bottle in her hand, it hit the floor and shattered. Jack didn't even have time to figure out what was happening as Ryūjin rushed toward him.

"_KOURO_!!" Ryūjin screamed.

Jack had raised his weapon to fire but the Goa'uld simply pushed past him and dashed down the hallway. Tsuyayaka was right on her heels and within seconds the SG team was alone. The entire army had turned tail and fled. Jack looked around in confusion.

"Sir, what's happening?" Sam asked with her weapon still raised.

"Not really sure…everyone kinda just left."

"She gave them the order to run." Daniel announced from his place on the floor. "Kouro means 'run'."

"Daniel," Jack said "you okay?"

"Not really."

Jack walked up to the ruined cabinet, with Sam tagging along. As they got to Daniel to help him up Sam stepped in the red puddle on the floor. Her foot was already bleeding from having stepped on her glasses so she didn't even notice the extra stickiness on her heel. Jack however had forgotten that he was missing his shoes and when he braced his feet to help Daniel up a piece of glass covered in yellow liquid sank into his foot.

"Yeowch!" Jack cried.

"Jack?"

"Sir?"

"I'm fine." Jack muttered. "Come on, Daniel, up you get."

Jack took Daniel's hand and hauled him to his feet. Once standing he reached over his shoulder and yanked out a piece of glass with a purple hue to it. They cautiously make their way out of the slippery puddle of liquid and glass to join Teal'c. Daniel used his shirt to try and rub off as much of the liquid off his skin as he could.

"Daniel, what is this stuff?" Jack asked.

"No idea. She called it Dragon Tears." Daniel replied. "Teal'c is that something you've heard of?"

"It is not."

"Well whatever it is we should probably try and get it off as soon as…"

"Sir," Sam interrupted "do you smell that?"

Everyone paused and sniffed at the air. The hair on the back of Daniel's neck went up when he caught scent of what had alarmed Sam.

"Smells like fire." Jack noted.

"Ryūjin had them set the place on fire." Daniel announced.

"Seems a little extreme." Jack said. "The entire complex is paper and wood, the whole place would burn down."

"Exactly."

"Point taken." Jack nodded. "Alright, Kids, stick together, time to go home."

Jack reeled in what little space was between himself and Sam and grabbed her hand to more effectively lead her. The team picked the most likely direction and started making a break for the outer walls. Breaking into one room they ran right through to the other side and broke through into the hallway.

They were not expecting the chaos and panic that they came across in the hallway. Ryūjin had not waited until everyone was out of the maze like palace before setting the blaze. Inhabitants that had been hiding themselves before shrieked and ran through the halls in an attempt to make it to safety. Flames were licking greedily at the thin paper walls and spreading across the wooden floor.

"Back the way we came," Jack ordered "hopefully the other side isn't as bad."

Turning around they ran back through the center room they had just left. Sliding in the unidentified puddle Teal'c almost lost his balance, but managed to keep up with the others. On the far side of the building there were less people, but it quickly became obvious that the fire had been set to encircle the building. Running down a hallway Jack came to a skidding halt as a heavy beam succumb to the fire and crashed to the floor in front of them.

"Oh for crying out loud!" Jack snarled.

"Just go through this wall." Daniel suggested.

Teal'c broke down another thin wall into a room that was only half eaten with flames. Sam cried out as she tripped over a low laying piece of furniture despite Jack's guidance. Before she could even truly get back on her feet she felt herself being hoisted up and found herself over Jack's shoulder in a fireman's carry.

"You're going to hurt your back, Sir!" Sam protested.

"Carter, we're die if we don't get out of here fast!"

Jack was right and the longer it took them to figure their way out of the large building the slimmer their chances for survival were becoming. The lacquer that gave the wooden floors their shine was like gasoline to the fire and cause it to burn fast and hot. Daniel took the lead as they ran down another hall. When they came to a 'T' intersection he baulked on which direction to go, since straight ahead was no longer an option due to a solid wood wall.

"Right, Daniel, right!" Jack barked.

Having made the decision Jack was quicker to turn. It had simply been the direction closer to him and therefore the automatic choice. Daniel and Teal'c fell a few steps behind when the ceiling above collapsed in a shower of hot embers. Jack raced forward to avoid the falling pieces. When he was out of the collapsed area he whipped around, almost losing his balance with Sam on his shoulders.

"Daniel! Teal'c!" Jack roared.

"Jack!" Daniel's voice cut through the smoke.

Daniel had only managed to escape being crushed by the falling wooden beams because Teal'c had snatched the silk collar he still wore and had yanked him back. When the dust settled Daniel found himself looking across ten feet of burning debris. At first it was instinct for both Daniel and Teal'c to try and follow Jack, to keep the team together. Daniel jumped up on one of the fallen beams and it broke beneath his weight. More of the ceiling came down and the floor itself started to buckle.

"No!" Jack barked "Find another way out!"

"We'll meet you at the Stargate!" Daniel called back.

Jack nodded and after a brief hesitation he turned around and ran off down the hall. With only the left hall as an option Daniel and Teal ran in the opposite direction. The heat from the fire was causing sweat to roll down their skin and the increasing smoke was stinging at their eyes and making it hard to breath.

_"Daniel! Help me!" _

The desperate cry in Japanese caused Daniel to automatically stop in his tracks. They had just come to a large open room that was mostly eaten by flames. In the far corner Tsuyayaka was huddled down in a ball of terror. When Daniel took a step towards her he felt the collar around his neck tighten.

"Daniel Jackson, we cannot go across that floor, it will cave in." Teal'c announced. "We must stay near the wall where there is more likely support."

"I can't just leave Tsuyayaka to die!"

"Would she not leave you to your death?" Teal'c asked seriuosly. "Did she not lure you into a Goa'uld trap?"

"She's just Ryūjin slave, she doesn't know any better."

"I disagree."

"Tsuyayaka!" Daniel called. "Come to us, we'll help you out of here!"

_"I am frightened!"_

"You can do it."

Against Teal'c's advice Daniel started to make his way out onto the weakened wooden floor. Seeing that he was coming to get her Tsuyayaka got to her feet and slowly started making her way towards him. They were about ten feet apart when Daniel stepped down on a plank that made an audible snap.

"Daniel Jackson!"

Teal'c rushed out to his friend and grabbed a hold of Daniel's wrist just as the floor beneath him gave way. The floor cracked open wider and Tsuyayaka screamed in horror as she fell into the darkness below. Daniel cried out in pain as his fall was suddenly stopped by Teal'c grip on his wrist.

Teal'c had been dropped to his knees by Daniel's weight but he wasn't about to let go. Daniel clawed at the edge of the broken floor with his free hand to try and help Teal'c pull him up however the searing hot edges couldn't be touched. Teal'c roared with effort as he forced himself to his feet to bring Daniel back up to the floor level. As he did so the fire ate away at the floor behind them and the whole piece collapsed.

Daniel yelped as they both fell through to the level below. They landed on a hard stone surface in a heap of smoldering debris and limbs. Daniel rolled over on his back and groaned. It had been a fall of about fifteen feet and he wasn't sure if all his bones were in one piece.

"Teal'c? You okay?"

"I am not mortally injured."

"Good to hear."

Teal'c was quick to his feet despite the fall and reached down to help Daniel up. Although he felt the effects of the fall Daniel didn't think anything was broken. The air in the basement level was easier to breath since the smoke rose. However when he looked around he found that they had fallen into one of the prison cells and were trapped behind bars. Daniel stared at the bars in disbelief.

"Now that's just…just…**_not_ **fair." Daniel protested.

"It is a setback." Teal'c agreed somberly.

"Why is it that good guys always seem to come in last?"

"I was unaware that we were involved in a race."

"Teal'c," Daniel shook his head sadly "I love you, but you can be really hard to talk to sometimes, you know that?"

"I am aware of this fact. I also feel the same of you at times, Daniel Jackson."

"Fair enough."

Daniel's attention was caught by a slight motion across the hallway from their cell. Tsuyayaka had also fallen into a cell, she was simply taking longer to recover. When she did get up she looked at their predicament with equal surprise. However, unlike Teal'c and Daniel she knew the codes to the doors.

Reaching out of her cell and feeling for the panel Tsuyayaka quickly punched in the code to unlock the door. She stepped out of her cell and stared into Daniel's eyes for a moment. He expected her to come over and release them as well, instead a cruel smile spread across her lips and she fled down the hall.

"_Hey! Wait! You can't leave us here!"_ Daniel shouted after her. "_I tried to save your life…I_…I ate durian for you!"

Daniel had finished his sentence in English out of pure frustration. To his surprise Tsuyayaka returned to the bars. She did not however look like she had come to help. She glared spitefully at Daniel.

_"Blue-eyed demon!"_ Tsuyayaka snarled. _"You have ruined all of our lives! You have destroyed Bangkok!"_

Daniel winced as Tsuyayaka spat in his face. She turned away and raced off down the stone hall. Rubbing the back of his hand across his face Daniel leaned forward and rested his head on the cold iron bars.

"I guess she was happier with her life before we came along." Daniel sighed.

"What was your first clue, Daniel Jackson?"

Daniel was startled by Teal'c's words and the uncharacteristic sarcastic tone. He turned to look at him and to his surprise the large Jaffa had a hint of a smile on his face. Daniel suddenly felt his blood boil in anger against his friend. Surprised by his own reaction Daniel just grit his teeth together and went to stare out of the bars again.

"Please, Teal'c, don't go developing a sense of humour on me now…I can only take so much irony at one time."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

"I can't see Jack…and by that I mean I can't even see myself."

"Do you think I'd have a better shot at seeing?"

"I doubt it," Jack shook his head "it's smoke not dark that's clouding the view."

"Well if we're both blind…do you think you could put me down?"

"Hang on, I think I see a way out."

Jack had come to another solid wood wall, but unlike the other one this one looked weak enough from the flames to break through. He threw the shoulder opposite to the one Sam was currently on into the charcoal wood. Sam's next breath was a cool and refreshing compared to the acrid smoke filled palace. They had made it out into the garden.

"Shuushi!" A male voice barked with authority.

Sam figured that one of the guards had caught them and waited for Jack to shoot him. He still had his P90 slung around his neck. However as the seconds went by and Jack didn't do so much as twitch Sam began to wonder what was going on. As far as she could tell he wasn't making any attempt to fire at the guard or to put her down.

"Oite goshujin hiza." The guard snarled.

"Sir…what are you doing?"

"I…I…" Jack stuttered.

When Jack turned around Sam instantly assumed that he wasn't able to get to his own gun and was expecting her to take the guard down. Without hesitation she lifted the handgun she was still gripping and fired into the darkness. There was a breathless cry of pain that let her know she had at least struck her target.

"Did I get him?" Sam asked.

"Yeah…I…I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I don't know." Jack replied vacantly.

"Are you okay, Sir?"

"I'm fine, maybe a little dizzy from the smoke inhalation." Jack shook his head.

"Can you please put me down?"

"What? Oh, right."

Jack carefully put Sam down on the well care for lawn. She waited for orders or for him to take her hand and lead her back to the Gate. However a full minute went by and nothing happened. She reached out in Jack's direction, suddenly feeling a need to touch his skin. When she did he yelped and jerked back.

"Damn it, Carter, don't sneak up on me."

"Sneak up on you? Sir, are you sure you are okay?"

"Let's get to the Gate, hopefully Daniel and Teal'c are already there."

Sam nodded and held her hand out. Jack took it and headed off in a random direction at a fast pace. It took him a few minutes to realize that he was just running without really knowing where he was going. They were away from the blaze and the only light came from a small purple moon. The odd light cast a horrifying glow on the thick bamboo forest.

"Carter, I think you'll be able to see better than me out here."

"Okay."

Sam reached up and pulled down her blind fold. Looking around she tried to figure out which direction they should head. Without knowing where they had exited the building it was impossible to get her bearings. She looked at Jack and saw a glint of panic in his dark eyes that she wasn't used to seeing.

"Sir, which way did we come from?"

"Uh…behind us of course."

"Right, sorry." Sam smiled. "Okay, I guess we should go either left or right and start making a circle till we come to something we recognize."

"That sounds like a plan."

Jack was still holding Sam's hand so she decided to just guide him off to the right. As they started to circle the palace they came to the tea house. Sam knew the way from here and there was no one around to stop her. It would seem that all of the inhabitants were busy elsewhere. She glanced back towards the palace. Sam had to squint against the glow of the still raging fire.

"I'm sure they made it out, Carter." Jack said, reading her thoughts. "We need to get to the Gate."

Sam turned away from the fire and lead Jack across the garden. They hurried over the rounded bridge over the stream and went straight for the Stargate. When they got there they were alone. Jack looked around, his free hand rubbing against his stomach.

"Sir?"

"Carter, are you feeling…'off', in any way?"

"Not really, why?"

"I'm sure it's nothing." Jack shrugged. "So where are those two?"

"We should go back and find them."

"I'll go, you stay here."

"Wha…"

"In case they make it here, we can't be running back and forth all night because we all think we're saving each other." Jack explained. "I'll be back, in the meantime dial Earth, I know you don't have a radio or anything, but if we call them, they'll send someone."

"I…uh…" Sam stuttered.

"Carter?"

"Are you sure you want to go alone? I mean…shouldn't we stick together?"

"Car…"

"I'm sorry, never mind." Sam pulled her hand out of his. "I don't even know why I said that. Go find Daniel and Teal'c."

Jack took a hesitant step back and glanced at the distant glow of the fire. For a moment Sam didn't think he was going to leave, for a moment she didn't want him to. The both shook their heads at the same time. Jack's eye narrowed in determination, he took a deep breath and headed off towards the palace at a fast trot.

By the time Jack got to the building the fire was beginning to die down. Having burned hot it had quickly started to run out of fuel. He stopped at the edge of the burnt shell of the still smoldering palace and just stared into the murky darkness. Everything was eerily quiet. Jack tried to take another step forward but felt frozen to the spot.

"What the hell is wrong with you, O'Neill?" Jack growled at himself. "Get your ass in there and get your friends."

Having given himself direct orders helped him and he straightened his back and walked into the rubble. He didn't dare call out for Daniel and Teal'c, he didn't know who else might be listening. As he made his way closer to the center of the building he had to tip toe around near the walls to keep from falling down to the lower level through the fire eaten floorboards.

"Damn it, Teal'c!" Daniel's voice roared from the ashes. "This isn't funny!"

Daniel's angry snarl was followed by a deep chuckle. Jack furrowed his brow a the sudden sounds of a scuffle. He made his way over towards the noise and looked down into a large hole in the floor. Watching the young archeologist trying to remove the smug grin off the Jaffa's face was a very unusual sight. Jack rolled his eyes as Daniel took a swing at Teal'c and instantly got his hand caught in the Jaffa's large palm.

"Daniel, what the hell are you doing?" Jack called down.

"Teal'c thinks this is funny."

"It kind of is." Jack replied. "You've got a nice David and Goliath thing going on."

"Shut up, Jack. Just get us out of here."

Teal'c chuckled again and Daniel got that 'disgruntled wet cat' look on his face that he did so well.

"Teal'c, I'm proud of you." Jack smiled. "Normally I'm the only who can get under Daniel's skin like that."

"Ha ha." Daniel said dryly.

"Alright, enough play time," Jack said looking around "we need to get out of here before someone comes looking for us."

"I'm not the one mocking from on high."

Jack decided to ignore Daniel's grumblings and looked around for a rope of some sort. On the part of the floor that remained was a large silk tapestry that had mostly escaped damage from the fire. Jack tore it into strips to make it longer and threw it into the pit.

"Daniel come up first, I'm not going to be able to hold Teal'c's weight on my own." Jack said. "No offense, T."

"None taken, O'Neill."

Jack paused, having sworn that he had just heard Teal'c say something that wasn't completely literal. Before he could over think it there was a tug at the hastily put together rope. It took Daniel a few minutes to work his way back up to the ground level. Once there he helped Jack hold onto the silk while Teal'c followed.

When Teal'c got to his feet on the unsteady floor Daniel instantly dropped the silk. Without a word he started to stalk off towards the Gate. Jack felt his stomach churn and rubbed at it once again.

"Daniel? You okay?"

"I just want to go home."

"I second that." Jack agreed.

The trio made their way back to where Sam was waiting at the Gate. She was no longer alone, SG-7 had joined her. They were just about to head out looking for the rest of SG-1 when they had arrived. Sam came rushing up and threw her arms around the boys in a warm hug.

"Miss us, Carter?" Jack asked.

"We were just about to come looking for you." Sam smiled.

"Well we're here, can we just go home now?" Daniel said. "I really need a shower."

"Indeed you do, Daniel Jackson."

Daniel glared at Teal'c but just shrugged it off. He walked over to the DHD and physically moved the youngest member of SG-7 out of his way to dial it. Once the Gate was opened he stalked off towards it, barely giving SG-7 time to send the code through to open the iris.

Jack watched Daniel disappear through the event horizon with an uneasy feeling. When he felt a pressure at his side he looked over and found Sam had stepped up next to him. She looked as though she had recently been crying.

"Are you sure you're feeling okay?" Jack asked.

"I'm fine…it's just…that was a close one, Sir."

"They're all close, Carter." Jack sighed. "And I'm not sure how much more closeness I can take."

Jack didn't give Sam much of a chance to reply. Feeling an overwhelming desire to be home he walked off towards the Gate. Back at the SGC he wanted nothing more than to take a shower and crawl into bed, however, he found himself in the infirmary for a routine off world check up instead.

A nurse was checking his blood pressure and whatnot while Janet turned her attention to the blood running down the back of Daniel's arm from the wound in his shoulder. She had him pull off his black shirt, exposing the deep cut. Jack's own foot was throbbing from the slice in it, but he kept quiet about it knowing that it wasn't deep enough for stitches.

Jack watched his team in silence. Sam had a new pair of dark glasses now. She and Teal'c were having a quiet conversation about nothing in particular. Daniel kept jerking his shoulder away from Janet as she attempted to clean the wound. Jack took a deep breath, but it did nothing to put him at ease. Something felt out of place, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Ouch!" Daniel cried suddenly. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"I'm sorry, Daniel." Janet apologized. "Is it painful?"

"It wouldn't be if you'd stopped messing with it!" Daniel barked. "Just leave it alone."

"I think you need stitches." Janet replied evenly.

"I think you need to calm down, Daniel." Jack said.

"I don't really care what you think, Jack."

"Daniel, I can get an anesthetic…" Janet started.

"Don't touch me!"

Daniel looked around and when he spotted his black shirt on the bed he grabbed it. Crawling into the damp cloth he got to his feet. Janet took a surprised step back as her unwilling patient pushed past her. Jack got up and stopped Daniel just as he got to the infirmary door. He turned Daniel around and for half a second it looked like he was going to take a swing at him. Daniel didn't lash out at Jack, but clearly it was taking effort for him to keep his temper.

"Daniel, what is going on?"

"I'm just a little annoyed right now, okay? I…I need some time alone."

"No, you need to apologize to Dr. Frasier." Jack said firmly. "She's trying to help you, you know that."

"I do know that." Daniel admitted meekly. "I'm sorry, Janet, forgive me."

"It's okay, Daniel."

"Thank you." Daniel turned to Jack. "Can I go now?"

"No." Jack shook his head. "Not until you tell me what is going on with you."

Daniel's blue eyes turned to steel. Jack found himself automatically taking a step back from the renewed rage in Daniel's expression. His friend looked like he was going to go for his throat at any moment.

"You want to know why I'm angry, Jack?" Daniel spat.

"I don't just want to know, as the leader of this team I need to know."

"Every time I trust someone I get hurt, I'm **_sick_** of it."

"Dan…"

"And that includes you." Daniel hissed.

"Me?"

"I trusted you, I trusted you and you betrayed me."

"What are you talking about?"

"Abydos, Jack, I trusted you to keep Abydos a secret…but you came back anyway, you told everyone we were still there. You ruined my life."

"Daniel…"

"You ruined my life and you cost Sha're her's. She would be alive if you could be trusted. I can't trust anyone…and that's why I'm angry."

"You're bringing this up now? Daniel that was years ago."

"It still hurts."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Still furious Daniel stormed through the halls of the SGC. He could hear Janet protesting, but if they wanted him back in the infirmary they were going to have to get a couple of strong Airmen to drag him there. Grinding his teeth to the point of pain Daniel threw open the door into the locker room.

They had arrived back at the SGC in the early hours of the morning and there was no one else in the locker room. Reaching up to the collar of his shirt Daniel ended up tearing it almost in half before ripping it off over his head. His shoulder blazed with pain, but he ignored it.

Tearing off the rest of his clothing he just left them in a heap on the floor. Daniel stepped up to one of the showers and turn on only the cold water. He bowed his head and let the powerful icy spray strike the back of his neck. Staring at the white tile floor he watched his diluted blood swirl down the drain.

He just wanted to scream, but he took a deep breath instead. As the cold water ran down his back the tension in his muscles slow ebbed away. The rage that had been clouding his mind began to clear. After what he felt was no more than five minutes under the spray Daniel snapped his head up and gasped violently.

"What did I say?" Daniel whispered in horror. "Why would I say something like that?"

Daniel rushed out of the shower, having to turn back after having forgotten to turn it off. He hastily dried off and pulled on a fresh base uniform from his locker. Buttoning up his SG-1 jacket he found himself having difficulty. He looked down at his hands and saw that his fingertips were all wrinkled, as though he'd been soaking in water for an extended period.

Shrugging it off reminded Daniel of just how much his shoulder hurt. Desperate to apologize he rushed towards the infirmary. When he got to the infirmary it was empty. Confused he looked around as if that would make everyone magically appear again.

"Jack?" Daniel called. "Jack?"

"He went home, Daniel."

Daniel turned and saw Janet coming out of her office. She had a folder in her hand and looked as though she'd been finishing up some paper work despite the late hour. Janet looked at Daniel and smiled brightly.

"Janet," Daniel took a step towards her "I am so sorry for how I acted earlier."

"You already apologized."

"You deserve to have me apologize again. I don't know what came over me."

"Feeling better now?"

"Not really, now I just feel guilty…and my shoulder is killing me."

"I thought it might be," Janet flashed him a knowing smile "it's why I hung around."

"You're the best, Janet."

"Mind if I take a look?"

"Please."

Janet walked over to one of the infirmary beds and had Daniel sit down. His dark coloured jacket had hidden the still seeping blood, but when he went to take off his shirt it stuck to the sticky skin. Janet put on a pair of latex gloves and gently touched the edge of the wound before bringing her penlight out to get a better look.

"It's a good thing you let me look at this."

"Stitches?" Daniel sighed.

"After I get the glass out."

"Glass?"

"I'm not sure how big the piece is, but I can clearly see the tip. I probably caught that on the gauze earlier, which is why it hurt so much. You didn't know that glass had caused this?"

"I thought I had removed it all."

"No, not all of it." Janet shook her head. "Stay here, I'll need a few things, we'll just numb it up with a local."

"Thank you."

"Anytime."

Daniel forced a smile. Janet left the infirmary to gather the supplies she needed. Feeling a knot in his stomach Daniel pulled out his cell phone. After a brief hesitation he hit the auto dial for Jack. After about six or seven rings he picked up.

"What do you want?" Jack answered testily.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Jack repeated in a growl. "You flat out say that I single handily ruined your life and killed Sha're and for some reason you think 'sorry' is appropriate?"

"You didn't ruin my life, Jack. I'm the one at fault for what happened to Sha're, I'm the one who couldn't leave the Gate alone, I'm the one who dug it out of the Abydonian sands. The Goa'uld would never have been able to come to Abydos if I had left well enough alone. You know that I've always blamed myself."

"Yeah, I know that." Jack admitted grudgingly.

"Then you know that I didn't mean a word of what I said."

"Yeah." Jack responded with a slight slur.

"Jack? Are you drunk?"

"Maybe."

"Because of me?"

"Partly."

"And the other part?"

"…Carter." Jack answered after a long pause.

"Sam? What about her?"

"I almost got her killed tonight."

"You've almost gotten her killed lots of nights." Daniel pointed out. "If you get drunk every time your liver isn't going to last long."

"Tonight was…different."

"Different?"

"I was afraid."

"Afraid?"

"Frightened."

"Frightened?"

"Damn it, Daniel, stop repeating everything I say as a question." Jack snapped.

"Sorry, I just don't understand."

"When we got out of the fire there was this samurai looking guy there ordering us to do something, and I froze." Jack said as though he didn't even believe the memory himself. "I turned tail, Daniel, I turned around to run. I don't even know why. If Carter hadn't shot that guy…he would have killed us both."

"None of us really acted like ourselves tonight. You having a panic attack, me losing my temper, Teal'c giggling, Sam…well actually Sam seemed fairly normal. Do you think this has to do with the Dragon Tears?"

"No." Jack answered instantly.

"How can you know that? We don't even know what they were."

"It was just a Goa'uld mind trick. Nothing more than an inert oil, most likely olive oil, and some food colouring."

"What?" Daniel asked confused.

"Teal'c slipped in it and had a stain on his pants that we had run through spectral analysis and it came back as a harmless oil. There was also nothing in any of our blood work. You don't think I'd just let everyone go home if there was a quarantine threat do you?"

"I guess that's exactly what I thought." Daniel admitted. "Where was I when all of this was going on?"

"Gripping about having your blood pressure taken, snapping at Dr. Frasier, snarling at me, and then I assume you went off and took a shower."

"If you had time to get home and start drinking I must have been in the shower for an hour at least, why didn't anyone come and find me?"

"Because you were being a prick and no one wanted to deal with you."

"Touché." Daniel sighed. "Still, something had to cause all of this."

"Daniel, we have a high stress job," Jack said firmly "we're bound to snap every once in a while."

"It felt like so much more than just stress."

"It doesn't matter." Jack said. "I'm feeling fine now, you seem to be alright."

"I am."

"Good, then it's over. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Jack…I do trust you."

" Good night, Daniel."

Daniel hung up the phone just as Janet stepped back into the empty infirmary. She had a tray of instruments and supplies. Picking up a needle she drew a small amount of anesthetic. The numbing agent went to work almost instantly. Janet had to work at the glass for a minute before being able to get a good grip on it.

"Okay, Daniel, deep breath, this might hurt."

"That's fine."

Daniel took a deep breath and waited for the inevitable pain. Janet braced one hand against his back and yanked on the glass. The tiny shard came free without any trouble or discomfort. Janet chuckled and held the tiny sliver out so that Daniel could see it.

"All that trouble over that?" Daniel asked.

"It would have become infected if left in, and the larger piece that you must have pulled out looks like it went deep."

"It felt like it." Daniel replied ruefully.

Janet smiled and opened up a package of catgut that had a hook shaped needle attached to it. With the help of two hemostats Janet quickly put six stitches in the deep cut. When she was done she rubbed away the extra blood and put a gauze bandage over her work. Snapping off the gloves she picked up Daniel's shirt and handed it to him.

"Okay, you are all patched up now."

"Thank you, Janet."

"Go home, get some sleep. I'm sure General Hammond is going to want to hear all about this tomorrow."

"He knows we're back, right?"

"You know he's always called when a team comes back early. However, everything seemed under control."

Daniel nodded and pulled his shirt back on. Janet watched as he took a breath to say something more, but he remained silent. She smiled and crossed her arms over her chest and waited. Daniel noticed the look he was getting and chuckled.

"You want to apologize again, don't you?" Janet asked with a smile.

"Yeah. I'm sorry."

"Forget about it, Daniel. Get some rest."

Getting to his feet Daniel took one last look around before shaking his head sadly and leaving. Janet watched him go, worried about his mental state. She was surprised it had taken this long for him to have this kind of a breakdown. The rest of SG-1 had the advantage of being trained warriors, they had tools to help them cope with the daily threat of death and combat.

"SG-1 needs a break." Janet mused to herself. "I could use one myself."

Suddenly feeling tired from being dragged into work at one in the morning Janet cleaned up the mess from Daniel's stitches and prepared to go home. Walking down the hall she pressed the elevator button to go back to the surface. When the doors slid open Sam was on the elevator, even through the dark glasses it looked like she had been crying.

"Janet," Sam said with obvious relief "I was hoping you'd still be here."

"Sam, I thought you went home."

"I did. I couldn't stay there."

"Why not?"

"I don't know." Sam sighed. "I just don't want to be alone tonight, I was hoping I could spend the night at your place."

"Of course."

Sam breathed an audible sigh of relief and gave Janet a warm hug. It was at least the sixth time Janet had noticed Sam hugging someone tonight. Her friend was not normally so 'touchy' and it worried her. On its own Janet wouldn't have thought twice about it, but with Daniel's temper snapping and Jack having been so uncharacteristically cooperative with the medical staff , Sam's behavior was setting off alarms in her mind.

"Sam, what's happening to SG-1?"

"I don't know…I think the stress might finally be getting to us."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

ONE MONTH LATER

Sam stepped onto the elevator with a happy sigh. She was just glad to be back on duty and at the SGC. After the melt down of the whole team after their last off world mission Janet had gone directly to Hammond and basically demanded that SG-1 be given a month of leave.

Jack had fought the forced vacation tooth and nail. However in the end Janet won out, as she always seemed to do, and they'd been ordered to relax. Still grumbling Jack had jumped on a flight to Minnesota and as far as Sam knew he'd stayed there the entire time.

Sam had spent that first night with Janet and the next day she had felt much better. The sensation of absolute desolation from that night still haunted the back of her mind. She had been fine on the Base, but the moment she was alone there had been a crushing weight on her heart that had brought her to tears. However the emotional drop had not repeated itself since.

Sam was jolted out of her thoughts as the elevator came to a stop a few floors before the one she was waiting for. Jack stepped on the elevator looking tan and happy. Sam smiled at him and he returned the gesture.

"Glad to be back, Sir?"

"I don't know, I was getting sort of used to the idle life. What about you?"

"I was ten minutes away from going insane."

"Honestly, same here."

Jack chuckled and leaned against the back of the elevator. He stared at Sam for a moment, looking lost in thought. Sam shifted her weight uncomfortably as he continued to inspect her.

"Sir?"

"Something's different about you, I'm trying to figure it out." Jack replied.

"I'm not wearing the glasses."

"Ah, that's it." Jack nodded. "I had almost forgotten that you had blue eyes."

"No you didn't." Sam chuckled.

"No, you're right I didn't." Jack admitted. "I can't believe that crazy Dragon witch wanted to 'breed' you to Daniel."

"I try not to think about it."

"Probably for the best." Jack laughed again.

The elevator opened up on the level that held the commons and they both stepped out. As they walked down the hall they heard a round of uproarious laughter. They looked at one another with identical confused looks. It seemed too early in the morning for such cheer.

Arriving at the commons the laughter repeated itself. There were seven Airmen in the mess hall, all of which had pulled their chairs around the table where Teal'c was attempting to have breakfast. Three of them were laughing so hard they had tears streaming down their faces. Teal'c on the other hand had his characteristic eye brow raised and was looking fully unamused.

"What the hell is going on in here?" Jack demanded.

"Sorry, Sir," one of the Airmen replied through his tears "Teal'c was just telling us a great joke."

"Teal'c? A joke?" Jack replied in surprise. "This I have to hear."

"I have already demonstrated this joke to you, O'Neill." Teal'c said somberly. "You did not find it amusing."

"It's hilarious." Another Airman chuckled. "'The Set warrior's nose…drips'."

Sam and Jack looked at one another, wondering what they were missing as the rest of the group broke into laughter once again. Teal'c continued to eat his breakfast, ignoring his new found fan base. Jack stepped up to the crowd and it suddenly went silent.

"That joke isn't funny…it's not even slightly amusing." Jack announced.

"Y…yes, Sir." The Airman closest to him stuttered. "Sorry, Sir."

"You don't have to be sorry…"

"We should get back to work, Sir." Another said as he stood up.

The mood had clearly been broken. Scattering like roaches with the lights turned on everyone left. Jack found himself suddenly a pariah, no one was making eye contact with him as they scurried away. Sam however got several nearly courtly bows from the men.

"Major." A young Captain greeted with a friendly smile as he went to take Sam's hand.

"Get out of here." Jack growl.

"Yes, Sir." The Captain said instantly and rushed out of the commons.

Jack rolled his eyes and sought out some coffee. Not thinking anything of the encounter Sam grabbed a bagel and joined Teal'c at the table. He paused in his breakfast to look up and give her a greeting head nod.

"You are no longer wearing your glasses, Major Carter."

"I was able to take them off a few days ago."

"I am pleased."

"Same here."

Jack joined them and sipped at his coffee. Despite not having seen one another in a month they found that they didn't have much to say to one another. With her back to the door Sam didn't see Daniel enter the commons. Jack on the other hand suddenly stopped cold with his coffee mug half way to his lips.

Without a word Daniel walked over and got some coffee. When he sat down next to Sam she didn't notice anything out of the ordinary other than the fact that he was unusually quite. Jack put his coffee mug down and stared at Daniel for a moment, clearly waiting for the archeologist to say something.

"Daniel…"

"Not a word, Jack." Daniel grumbled.

"Daniel you can't just come wandering in here after a month looking like that and not expect us to ask questions."

"Looking like that?" Sam repeated confused.

Sighing heavily Daniel turned to face her and she automatically gasped. Daniel's right eye was surrounded by a deep purple bruise with yellow margins. He had a 'I don't want to talk about it' look on his face, but Sam's curiosity was too great.

"Daniel, what happened?" Sam asked.

"Starting bar fights in your time off?" Jack teased.

"No." Daniel replied sullenly. "My neighbor."

"You're neighbor hit you?" Sam asked in shock. "Why?"

"I have no idea."

"What happened?"

"I got his mail in my box and when I went to give it to him he lashed out at me." Daniel shrugged.

"Just like that?"

"He's never been very fond of me, he thinks I'm gay and that I'm somehow undermining the very fabric of the American family, even though I've told him I'm not and even if I was I certainly don't have any time to be undermining anything."

"Maybe he was worried that you got some 'gay' on his mail and that he had to react with an act of pure testosterone to counter act it." Jack chuckled.

"I was unaware that homosexuality could be spread by contact." Teal'c said seriously.

"It can't Teal'c, it's a joke." Jack sighed. "This from the guy that just had a small group of Airmen in stitches."

"What?" Daniel asked.

"Oh, Teal'c just told that Set joke to some of the boys and they were just rolling."

"That's a horrible joke." Daniel said flatly. "Sorry, Teal'c, it really is."

"They insisted that I tell them a joke. It is the only one I know. It seemed to please them."

"There is no accounting for taste." Jack shrugged. "Okay, I'm going to go and just stare at the Gate for a while, don't forget we have a briefing with General Hammond at one today."

"You've missed off worlding that much, Jack?" Daniel asked.

"You betcha." Jack smiled. "Life in Minnesota is nice, but dull."

Daniel watched Jack as he wandered off, whistling happily to himself. He shook his head and turned his attention back to Sam. She was munching on her bagel, looking like she was enjoying it. He noticed for the first time that she wasn't wearing her dark glasses.

"What did you do over the break, Sam?"

"I read books to my plants." Sam replied with a shy smile.

"I see, did the plants enjoy any of these books?"

"My orchid got a few new flowers."

"Success." Daniel chuckled.

"What about you?"

"Me?"

"Yes, Daniel, you."

"I…uh…actually…I…uh…"

"You worked, didn't you?" Sam accused.

"I did." Daniel admitted. "With all the trouble we get into I don't often get a chance to sit down and actually get some translating done. It was very relaxing."

"Well as long as it was stress relieving."

"Very."

Daniel smiled as Sam shook her head sadly at him and went to get some coffee. He really had enjoyed the time away, but he was ready to get back to the Stargate. Hopefully Hammond already had a planet in mind for them to explore. Now that he could see Sam's eyes again he saw that she had the eager glitter about it as well.

Two members of SG-4 came into the commons to grab a light breakfast. Daniel watched as the men crossed paths with Sam. They both stopped cold and stared at her like they'd never seen her before. Daniel was just starting think it was odd when Sam returned to the table and the men went about getting their breakfast. The two men sat down at a table behind Daniel and he quickly forgot about them.

"How about you Teal'c?" Daniel asked. "How did you spend your time off?"

"I made friends with Captain Turner and we engaged in video games during hours off duty."

"Sounds like fun." Sam smiled.

"Indeed."

"Turner," Daniel repeated "I don't think I know him."

"Her." Teal'c corrected.

"Ah, 'her'…" Daniel smiled hoping that Teal'c would continue. "Care to tell us more?"

"No."

Sam smiled, but she suddenly looked alarmed. Noticing the change Daniel also realized that the men behind him had raised their voices. By the time Daniel turned around to see what was going on a full fledged fist fight had broken out between the two men.

Teal'c was the first one to react. Getting to his feet he moved over and physically separated the men. Sam jumped up as well and called for backup. Daniel stared at the men as they continued to struggle against Teal'c to get to one another. It didn't take long for several Airmen to come and truly separate the men and haul them off. One of the men who had come to break up the fight approached Sam.

"Major Carter," the Airman smiled "were they fighting over you?"

"What? No." Sam replied shocked. "They just suddenly attacked one another."

"They were looking at you earlier, Sam." Daniel commented as he joined the conversation.

"Looking at me?"

"Ogling would be a better word for it." Daniel clarified.

"No one 'ogles' me." Sam said sharply.

"Well, probably not many that live to tell about it, but you do get ogled."

"I think I have enough information, Major," the Airman said curtly "thank you."

The Airman turned around and left. Sam, Teal'c, and Daniel just looked at one another for a moment. Daniel reached up and gingerly rubbed at the two day old bruise around his eye. Furrowing his brow as he tried to figure out what had just happened caused it to sting a bit more.

"That was…odd." Daniel finally said.

"Agreed." Teal'c nodded solemnly.

"Maybe SG-4 needs to be the next one on the vacation list." Sam shrugged.

"I guess." Daniel said uncertainly. "Look, I need to get some stuff done before the briefing. I'll see you guys then."

Retreating to his office Daniel spent the next few hours sorting through the massive amounts of pictures of various ruins and tablets that had accumulated while he was away. He had requests from five SG teams for translations. One set in Goa'uld caught his attention and he started on that one first. A few hours later the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Daniel."

"Sam, what's up?"

"I figured you would probably need a reminder about the briefing in five minutes."

"You are very right about that, thanks."

"Not a problem."

Daniel put down the phone and scooped up the translation he was working on. He was hoping to convince Hammond to allow SG-1 to take a trip to the planet. It looked like a civilization that had managed to over throw the Goa'uld themselves and that always interested him.

Coming into the briefing room Daniel found that Sam and Teal'c were already there. He took a seat just as Jack arrived and took a seat across from him. Hammond arrived shortly after and took a seat at the head of the table nearest Jack and Daniel. He smiled at SG-1 and then furrowed his brow in a look of concern.

"Afternoon, Sir." Jack greeted.

Sam was surprised to see General Hammond jolt slightly as if startled by Jack's voice. There was an odd tension in the room, an energy that could be felt. He had seemed to be in a good mood when he'd come in the room, but that had quickly changed. Daniel looked at Jack, but Jack just shrugged.

"Um, Sir?" Jack asked hesitantly.

"Yes, Colonel?" Hammond replied.

"Nothing, I was just wondering if we have a new assignment."

When Hammond didn't reply Daniel decided to take a shot at getting this awkward meeting going. He opened up the folder he'd brought with him to show the General. It was instinct for him to lean forward when he got to talking about something he was interested in.

"Sir, I got these photos of Goa'uld writings from SG-6 and I think we should travel there ourselves. This mi…"

"Dr. Jackson, right now I don't give a damn what you think." Hammond growled.

"Sir?" Jack, Sam, and Daniel all asked at the same time.

"Dr. Jackson your actions over the past few missions have put the lives of the entire SG-1 team at stake. You are not a military man and we have put up with you for this long because of the role you played in starting the Stargate program, but this is too much."

"I…I don't understand." Daniel stuttered.

"Sir," Sam said carefully "it's not Daniel that gets us into trouble, it's the nature of the work."

"Daniel Jackson has saved my life on more occasions than he has placed it in jeopardy." Teal'c said.

"Besides," Jack added "I'm the leader of this team and if anyone is to blame for bad decisions, it's me for listen to him."

"Enough!" Hammond spat. "Dr. Jackson, you are no longer allowed on any off world missions. You will concentrate on translating here on Base from now on."

Everyone was stunned into momentary silence by Hammond's sudden removal of Daniel from the team. Daniel himself had lost almost all of his colour. He took a breath to say something in his defense, but couldn't find his voice. Daniel looked to Jack for help.

"Sir, I'm not going off world without Daniel." Jack said firmly.

"Then you're not going off world."

"Si…"

"Dismissed, Colonel!" Hammond roared.

Red in the face with his temper Hammond got to his feet and stormed off into his office. For a full five minutes no one moved, they barely dared to breath. Daniel was the first one to make a motion. Leaving the file of photos on the large desk he got up and went to leave.

"Daniel…"

"Not now, Jack."

Sam watched in horror as Daniel left dejected. Jack had a moment of indecision, Sam could see it in his eyes. He was trying to priorities over following Daniel, or confronting Hammond. In the end he went to Hammond's door and after knocking let himself in.

Teal'c looked to Sam and she nodded to let him know that she'd talk to Daniel. Getting up she tried to catch up with him, but he had made it to the elevator already. She couldn't just let him go home alone, but she knew she wouldn't catch him in time. The only option was to grab her car keys and drive to his apartment. With her keys down in her office Sam grabbed the next elevator. Janet was on the elevator and greeted Sam with a bright smile.

"Sam, how was your vacation?"

"Janet, what's being going on with General Hammond while we were away?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary. Why?"

On their way to Sam's lab she explained everything that had happened with Hammond. Janet didn't really seem to be paying close attention and made no comments during the story. Sam, still determined to get to her keys, turned down the hallway to her lab door.

When she opened the door she was overwhelmed by the scent of flowers. She stared into her lab as though staring into a living dream. Every available surface had bunches and vases full of brightly coloured fresh cut flowers.

"Wha…" Sam gasped.

"What's with all the flowers, Sam?"

"I have no idea…"

"A secret admire perhaps?" Janet asked with a raised eyebrow. "Or by the looks of things, a few dozen of them."

"Janet, something is very wrong."

"Let's discus it over dinner." Janet announced.

"Dinner?"

"I'm starving."

"Janet…it's one in the afternoon and I have to go after Daniel."

"He'll be fine."

Sam stared at Janet in utter disbelief. Janet's only response was a coy smile. Looking at the flowers once again Sam took a step away from both her office and her friend. The glitter in Janet's dark eyes was more unnerving than Hammond's outburst.

"Janet…something's very, very wrong…"

"With what?"

"Everything, or rather everyone…"


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Jack knocked on General Hammond's door, but got no answer. Shifting his weight from foot to foot he waited a few minutes and tried again. This time there was a gruff answer that didn't sound anything like the man Jack had known for years.

"Go away."

"Sir, I need to talk to you." Jack insisted as he opened the door and stepped into Hammond's office.

"You just don't take 'no' for an answer, do you Colonel?" Hammond huffed.

"Not really."

"If this is about Dr. Jackson…I've made my decision."

"Of course it's about Daniel." Jack replied. "And with all due respect, Sir, have you lost your mind?"

"Watch your tone, Colonel."

"What happened here while we were away?"

"I'll tell you what happened: absolutely nothing. Peace and quiet for the first time in five years."

"And you think that's because Daniel wasn't around?"

"I…I don't know what I think."

Jack furrowed his brow, he couldn't remember the last time he'd heard the General stumble over his own words. Jack stepped all the way up to Hammond's desk causing the strong man to tense visibly. When the General rested his right hand lightly on the desk Jack's eyes widened and he took a slow step back.

"Sir, if I didn't know any better I'd say you have your hand on the desk like that so you can easily get to the gun you keep in that top drawer."

"That's absurd, Colonel."

"Is it?"

"Get out of my office."

"Sir, I…"

"That's an order."

Jack looked around for second as if he was going to see whoever it was that was causing his friend to act so strangely. General Hammond's looked as though he was getting ready to defend himself from a threat or to possiable bolt from one. Jack took a breath to protest further, but he could tell by the look in Hammond's eyes that he wasn't going to get anywhere with him at the moment.

"Yes, Sir." Jack said respectfully. "Please reconsider Daniel, he's an important member of my team."

Feeling ill at ease about the encounter Jack backed out of the office. On his way to the elevator everyone stepped out his way. Jack didn't think much of it, most people kept their distance when he looked like he was walking somewhere with a purpose.

When the elevator arrived there was a young technician on board already. When he stepped on she practically pressed herself into the corner to keep as far from him as possible. Jack just rolled his eyes, he knew he probably looked like he was in a fury, but that was only because he was.

Unlike Sam Jack was betting that Daniel hadn't gone home, but had retreated to his office instead. Getting to the door he decided to knock, something he rarely if ever did. He wasn't surprised to get the same response he'd received by Hammond.

"Go away."

"Hey, Daniel." Jack greeted as he let himself in.

"I should have locked that." Daniel grumbled.

"I have a key."

"What do you want?"

"I want to talk to you about General Hammond."

"Did it occur to you that I might not want to?" Daniel sighed.

"Daniel, I'm serious, something is wrong with him."

"Like what?" Daniel asked skeptically.

"I don't know." Jack admitted. "He just isn't acting like himself, maybe…maybe he's a Goa'uld."

"If he was a Goa'uld Sam would have noticed."

"Well something's going on. I know him, and this isn't him."

"Jack," Daniel sighed and pulled his glass off to pinch at the bridge of his nose "there is nothing wrong with General Hammond, he's just finally realized that disaster follows me wherever I go."

"What are you talking about?"

"Look at my life, Jack, it's been a string of misfortune and catastrophe for everyone around me. Half the Base thinks I've got some Pharaoh's curse."

"Don't be stupid, Daniel. There is no reason for Hammond to suddenly take you off the team. We have to figure out what is going on here."

Daniel stared at Jack for a second and then sighed heavily. He looked exhausted and now that Jack thought about it he was feeling a little worn himself.

"I want to go back to Abydos, Jack." Daniel admitted quietly.

"What?"

"I want to go home, now that Sha're is gone there is nothing for me here."

"You mean you want to go hide your head in the sand?"

"Five years, Jack!" Daniel suddenly spat angrily. "Five years and what have we accomplished?! Nothing! We may get into and out of trouble, but in the end we are no better off than when we started!"

Jack took a step back from Daniel's outburst. Daniel stared him down, as if daring Jack to contradict him. Finding himself at a loss for words Jack just stood frozen in place. Daniel curled his lip and slammed the book on his desk closed as he got to his feet. Without another word he snatched his car keys off the nearby shelf and left.

When Daniel was gone Jack snapped out of his momentary trance. He raised up his hand to look at it and found that he was shaking like a leaf. Jack took a moment to try and force his hand to remain still, but it wasn't possible.

"Low blood sugar." Jack muttered. "The whole SGC has gone hypoglycemic."

Jack had no idea what time it was, but he decided he couldn't spend another minute trapped underground. It felt as though the whole mountain was crushing down on him. Taking the elevator to the surface level he got in his car and drove off. Still shaking Jack pulled into a diner near his house that he frequented. Taking a seat at a small table near the front glass of the restaurant he just stared out into traffic.

There was a small family with a young child sitting behind him. When the child began crying Jack just worked on blocking out the shrill sound. He'd been to the restaurant enough times that when he arrived they just automatically brought him whatever happened to be on special that day.

Jack flashed the waitress a smile as she brought him a plate of chicken a la something-or-other. She returned the smile, but in an odd forced way. Tired of dealing with people today Jack turned his attention back to his dinner. He didn't notice any of the events happening around him, not even the fact that the family had picked up and left in the middle of their own meal.

"Sir?" A deep voice asked.

"Yes?" Jack answered automatically.

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Jack swallowed the piece of over cooked chicken he'd been chewing on and looked up. There was a pair of police officers standing about five feet from him. They looked absolutely serious about their request. Jack looked around to make sure that they were talking to him, but couldn't see anyone else nearby.

"Excuse me?" Jack asked.

"You've been asked to leave, Sir."

"Why?"

"What is your name?" The officer asked rather than answered.

"O'Neill, Jack O'Neill." Jack answered curtly. "Colonel O'Neill, USAF."

"Please, don't make a scene, just leave."

"A scene?" Jack repeated in disbelief. "I'm just trying to eat dinner."

"This is a private establishment and the owners have every right to ask you to leave, now if you refuse to do so peacefully…"

"Alright, alright, fine." Jack sighed.

When Jack went to reach for his wallet both of the police officers instantly drew their weapons. Several people screamed and everyone who didn't dash for the front door dove under their tables. Afraid of being gunned down Jack froze with his hand on his back pocket.

"Easy, guys," Jack said slowly "I'm just trying to pay for the rubberized chicken."

"Hands where I can see them!" The officer barked.

"Okay." Jack raised his hands up. "Are you arresting me?"

"We will if you do not cooperate and leave this establishment."

"Fine, I know when I'm not wanted…just not sure why."

Jack made sure to make no threatening motions that might set off the trigger happy cops as he got to his feet. When he got into his car his stomach was twisted painfully. Jack blamed the chicken rather than his nerves and drove the rest of the way home.

Once home he decided to try and call Daniel. There was no answer, it just kicked directly into voice mail. Feeling increasingly uneasy he tried Sam next and once again was directed into voice mail. Growling with frustration Jack paced around his living room.

Hours passed and Jack was still nervously tracking back and forth mindlessly. It wasn't until his stomach truly rebelled against him that he broke his pattern. Racing to the bathroom he dropped to his knees and threw up repeatedly before just wretching against an empty stomach.

Shaking violently he got back to his feet and ran some cold water on his face. Going back out into the living room he scanned the yard outside the sliding glass door for a threat. Somehow or another time had passed and it looked like it was late at night. He couldn't see anything, but he had become convinced that there was an enemy close by.

Keeping his eyes on the sliding glass door Jack backed up towards the end table near the front door. Opening the small drawer he pulled out the sidearm that he kept there. Double checking to see that the front door was locked Jack moved into a position that kept him away from the windows.

RING!! RI…

The phone was cut off as Jack whirled and expertly shot the noisy device. Panting for breath Jack swallowed hard and cautiously approached the damaged phone. With his heart racing Jack almost shot the answering machine sitting by the phone when it clicked on. Despite the fatal shot to the cordless phone the answering machine still functioned.

_"Jack? Damn it Jack, pick up the Goddamn phone!"_ Daniel's voice crackled from the tiny speaker. _"**Jack**!"_

"Da…Daniel?" Jack answered uselessly.

_"Damn it, Jack, why aren't you ever there when I actually need you?! Pick up the phone! I only get one call from in here…"_

There was a moment of silence before Daniel growled something very vulgar and slammed the receiver down. Jack stared at the broken phone, his thoughts stumbling over one another. A cold sweat was dripping from his skin and although his stomach was empty he felt like he was going to be sick again.

He'd felt fine a few hours ago, now he wouldn't be surprised if his heart failed him at any second. With his weapon raised Jack backed away from the answering machine before putting two bullets through it as well. With his heart pounding in his ears Jack looked around for the invisible threat.

"They've got Daniel, they'll be after Carter next or Teal'c…or me…"

Jack frantically fished his cell phone out of his pocket to call for help. He was halfway through dialing General Hammond's home number when he stopped. Frozen in time Jack stared at the small phone in his hand. Closing the phone he dropped it to the floor and crushed it under his boot.

"No…no, Hammond can't be trusted…no one can."


	11. Chapter 11

NOTE: Sigh, okay, since some people are getting confused I'm putting a quick 'warning' up on this chapter. This is not a fem slash story, but this chapter has some fem slashy type activity going on...but it's all just part of the plot and the strange reaction that each of the members of the team are causing. Nothing to do with actual love.

Chapter Eleven

Sam woke to a throbbing headache. Keeping her eyes closed she reached up and rubbed at her temples. She wasn't even attempting to remember what she might have done to deserve such a rude awakening. Laying on her back she rolled over on her side and tried to go back to sleep.

Putting her hand on her chest Sam rubbed at her heart. It didn't feel right, it wasn't painful, but it wasn't normal. It almost felt light. She took a deep breath and released it as a low purring growl. If it wasn't for the headache she would swear that she felt better than she could ever remember. However the headache was relentless and was not going to be ignored.

Rolling out of bed Sam got unsteadily to her feet. It was unnaturally dark and she felt more than a little disoriented. Making her way to the bathroom she decided against turning on the lights. After several months of light sensitivity she was still a little skittish about snapping on lights in the dark.

Tripping over a plush bath mat Sam barely managed to catch herself before she hit the floor. Once in the shower she felt it was safest to sit down in the tub and just let the water fall on her. Soon the powerful stream of the shower head started to ease her headache.

Sam sat under the spray trying to piece together the events of the previous day. The last thing she remembered clearly was General Hammond being angry at Daniel, although she couldn't remember why. After that her memories turn to what had to have been a particularly vivid and bizarre dream.

Feeling much better Sam turned off the hot shower. After groping around in the dark for a moment she found a towel and dried off with it. Still tired she made her way back to bed, dropping the towel unceremoniously on the floor as she got back in. Laying on her side she closed her eyes. Seconds later a slender arm wrapped itself around her waist and someone nuzzled the back of her neck.

"Yaa!!!" Sam cried in surprise.

Scrambling out of bed Sam jumped to her feet, ready to fight. She had trouble finding the bedside light, but when she did she turned it on. The other occupant of the bed squawked in protest and yanked the covers over their head to avoid the invading light. With her heart pounding in her throat Sam could have sworn she'd recognized the trespasser's voice.

"Janet?"

"It's too early, Sam, turn off the light." Janet replied sleepily.

Sam stood naked and frozen with shock as she stared at the lump of covers with Janet's voice. Her mind was racing, but it wasn't coming to any kind of logical conclusion. Looking around for the first time she realized that she didn't recognize her surroundings at all. Feeling exposed she snatched up the towel she'd dropped on the floor after her shower and wrapped it around herself. The fluffy white towel had a large golden cursive 'B' embroidered on it.

"Where…where are we?" Sam asked in a panic.

"The Bellagio."

"**_The_ **Bellagio?!" Sam repeated.

Janet didn't reply, she just snuggled down further into the covers and sighed in contentment. With her jaw still dropped in shock Sam rushed over to the window and threw open the curtains. The sun was just beginning to rise on the desert city. Beyond the famous fountain display of the Bellagio was the Las Vegas strip.

"Janet!" Sam cried.

"What?"

"Why are we in Vegas?!"

"It was your idea." Janet replied unconcerned. "Come back to bed."

"Janet, have you lost your mind?! We have to get out of here, we have to get back to Colorado."

"Calm down." Janet muttered.

"Janet, talk to me. What are we doing in Las Vegas?"

"Seems like a good place for a quick wedding."

"Wed…wedding?!" Sam stuttered. "I can't marry you!"

"That's just what the Elvis impersonator said." Janet giggled. "Guess we should have gone to Massachusetts."

"Janet, please be serious, we are in big trouble here!"

Heaving a heavy sigh Janet finally unburied herself from the covers. Sitting up in the luxury bed she wore the fine white cotton sheets like a Victorian dress. With her hair down in loose messy waves she looked so different than Sam remembered. Panic had caused a small amount of sweat to bead against Sam's skin, however that panic was ebbing away quickly.

"Sam?" Janet asked with genuine concern. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing…it's just…" Sam said disjointedly. "You're…"

Sam trailed off and stared at Janet unblinkingly. Two emotions battled to gain control of her actions. One was the edges of her panic still trying to scream at her that something wasn't right, that she needed to figure out her situation. The other was a deep seeded need to simply give into the situation and enjoy the company of the stunning creature that was gazing up at her.

"Sam?"

"You're so beautiful…" Sam breathed.

Janet smiled shyly and flushed. Seeing her flush caused Sam's breath to catch in her throat. Janet reached out and held her hand up for Sam to take. Feeling like she was sleep walking Sam stepped closer and took Janet's hand. The slight contact sent a pleasant shiver down her spine. Janet smiled brightly, her eyes locked on Sam's.

"I love you, Samantha."

"I love you too." Sam replied instantly and then furrowed her brow. "Why doesn't that sound right?"

"It sounds right to me." Janet purred.

"But, you're my best friend…" Sam whispered.

"Are you saying you don't love me?" Janet asked nervously.

"I do, so much…I just don't understand it."

"It's not something that's meant to be understood."

Since it was obvious that Sam wasn't going to get back into bed Janet got up on her knees instead. Janet carded her fingers into Sam's short hair and pulled her into a tender kiss. Sam was left with a dreamy smile on her face. Any traces of anxiety were washed away as her blood warmed and flushed her skin.

"Still need a reason?" Janet teased.

"Not at all." Sam replied with a vacent smile. "Wait…what about the Air Force…we can't…"

"I'll resign."

"What?"

"I'd leave the Air Force for you." Janet said seriously. "I love you, I'd do anything for you."

"Anything?"

"Name it. Anything you want, anything at all."

"I can't think of anything." Sam replied looking concerned again.

"I'm starving." Janet announced. "How about you call room service while I grab a shower…unless you'd like to join me?"

"I…uh…I just had one. I'll get us something to eat."

"Sounds good."

Janet couldn't keep herself from stealing one last kiss before leaving for the shower. Alone for only a few seconds Sam's stomach started to twist uneasily. Confused she sat down on the bed and tried once more to organize her thoughts. As the minutes passed Sam's breath became shallower. By the time she heard Janet turning off the shower she was in tears. A heartbreaking desolation was crushing down on her chest.

Trying to cope with the sever swing in her mood Sam picked up one of the pillows and hugged it tightly. She was just about to get up and seek out companionship when Janet stepped out of the bathroom. She had one towel wrapped around her body and was using another to dry her hair.

"Janet!" Sam greeted happily.

"Sam? You spend the night again? I had the craziest dream last night. We were deeply in love and we left the SGC to spend the night at the Bella…" Janet trailed off as she looked out from under the towel at the open window. "Is that a fountain?"

"It wasn't a dream," Sam said quickly "something is happening between us, some sort of uncontrollable reaction."

Still suffering from the shock of seeing Las Vegas out what she had thought was her own window Janet found it difficult to think. She tore her eyes away from the mesmerizing rise and fall of the Bellagio's fountains. Sam had slipping off the bed and sunk to the floor, tears streaming down her face.

"Sam?" Janet asked as she took a step towards her.

"Stay away from me!" Sam cried even as she held out her hand to be taken. "Just don't leave me alone."

"Major," Janet said in a firm voice "keep it together, we will figure this ou…"

Janet didn't get a chance to finish her sentence. Sam had jumped to her feet and rushed over to embrace Janet in a powerful grip. Gasping in surprise Janet's sense suddenly reeled around her. Forgetting her fear she wrapped her arms around the miserable woman in her arms and rocked her gently. Sam held onto her tighter and wept bitterly as Janet stroked her hair. The pain of listening to Sam cry caused tears to slip down Janet's face.

"It's okay, Samantha, I'm here."

"Don't leave me again."

"Never…I love you."


	12. Chapter 12

Note: Hopefully this chapter will make up for the last one. The whole Sam and Janet in Vega was supposed to be funny...but I think a lot of people took it the wrong way.

Chapter Twelve

"Damn it, Jack!"

Daniel slammed down the phone and glared at it as if that would help in any way. He closed his eyes and tried to take a deep breath to pull himself together. Closing his eyes only alerted him to the fact that he was grinding his teeth together with painful force. Daniel's heart was racing and he felt out of breath just sitting down.

"Get up." A strong voice ordered. "Come on, move it!"

"Piss off." Daniel snarled. "I have to…"

"The only thing you 'have to' do right now is get your ass up and follow me."

When the police officer put his hand on Daniel's shoulder he snatched the cop's wrist and jerked him forward. The cop was thrown forward onto the small desk that held the public use phone. Surprised by the sudden change in events the officer rolled over onto his back on the table.

Daniel jumped up and straddled the officer. Grabbing a handful of his uniform Daniel pulled his other arm back to strike him. Two other officers had heard the commotion and had a hold of him before Daniel could add 'assaulting a police officer' to his quickly growing list of offenses. They hauled him off his prey forcefully.

"Goddamn pigs!" Daniel spat.

The officer that Daniel had pinned down got up with his face flushed in fury. Daniel wanted nothing more than to be released to fight the man, but the others held him fast. The officer struck him hard against the temple before bringing his knee up into Daniel's stomach. The only thing that kept Daniel on his feet was the vice like grips at his upper arms from the two others. Daniel snarled more insults, in several languages, at the officer as the enraged cop went to strike him again.

"Hey!" The Sergeant shouted from the other side of the room. "Louis, calm the &%$ down! Just throw him in the tank before you go and get us sued!"

"But, Sar…"

"I don't want to hear it! That guy is drunk as a skunk, but he still has rights."

Through a haze of pain and anger Daniel tried to figure out how he'd gotten into this particular situation. He didn't recall drinking, which didn't sound like something he'd do. However he did recall starting a fight, which didn't sound like something he'd do either.

As they dragged him back to the small cell block he tried to clear his racing thoughts. Hearing the creak of the metal bars being swung open Daniel looked up sharply. Digging his heels into the concrete floor he tried to keep them from moving him any further.

"Wait…you can't do this to m…"

Daniel was cut off as a powerful bolt of electricity from a Tazer clawed its way from his lower back up into his heart. The painful jolt was paralyzing and before he could even cry out he found himself on his back on the floor, and on the wrong side bars. Groaning in pain and disorientation Daniel sat up and looked up at the officers. He forgot about trying to figure out why he was here and focused on his anger once more.

"What the fu…did they fly guys in from LA or what?"

"Shut the &%$ up!" Louis spat through the bars as he slammed the door shut.

"Do you have any idea who I am?" Daniel hissed. "When I get a hold of my people you are going to be in deep trouble."

"'You're people'?" Louis repeated with a derisive snort. "You from another planet or something, Wackjob? I can't imagine someone like you having friends."

"I do, and they are all in high places."

"Yeah, right. Good luck in here tonight, see you in the morning…if you survive."

"'If you survive'." Daniel repeated in a nasally mocking voice. "Yutz."

Rubbing at his swollen cheek, which matched well with the already black eye, Daniel muttered a few more choice words under his breath. He heard someone chuckling and turned around. Still sitting on the floor he had to look up at the three large men who were sharing the holding cell with him.

All three were covered in similar tattoos that spoke of gang related allegiance. Daniel narrowed his eyes in irritation as they shared some little secret between one another. Getting to his feet Daniel crossed his arms over his chest.

"What are you three school girls chattering about?"

"We're talk'en about you, Gringo." The leader jeered.

Barring his teeth in fury Daniel threw himself at the larger man. At first there was a great deal of surprise and chaos among the three other men. However it didn't take long for them to regroup. Daniel was driven by rage and adrenaline, but he was still no match for the hardened criminals he'd decided to start a fight with.

The leader threw Daniel against the bars hard enough to knock him half senseless. Punched hard in the ribs Daniel spit the resulting blood in his attackers face. Momentarily blinded by the blood the leader took a step back. Pushing himself off the bars Daniel drove his shoulder into his stomach and they both ended up on the floor.

Bleeding and breathless Daniel fought blindly, determined to kill. What he didn't realize was that the other two men were busy tearing each other apart as well. The four men battled mindlessly against each other like starving lions thrown into a ring.

"What the &%$ is going on in here?!" The Sergeant roared as he came on the scene. "Knock it off!"

There was no way that the Sergeant's mere words were going to end the war. Daniel had just lost what little he had of the 'upper hand' and ended up in the arms of the large man. The leader grappled him into a head lock and was trying to get the right leverage to end the fight permanently. Daniel's anger only flashed to fear when he realized that he was seconds away from having his neck snapped.

A harsh blast of freezing cold water smacked Daniel's soon to be murderer in the face. The rest of the inhabitants of the cell quickly received the same treatment. The Sergeant had turned the fire hose on the war zone to try and bring it under control.

Soaked to the skin and shivering Daniel scrambled away from the man who had tried to kill him. He looked around, trying to figure out what was happening. Seconds ago he had been so angry he'd ignited a fight he couldn't possibly win. Now all of his rage was replaced with a pulse pounding fear.

The whole scene had gone completely still. The Sergeant turned off the fire hose, but the water was still in a large puddle on the floor. The three men had forgotten their anger against each other, but they were clearly still furious at Daniel. The only thing keeping them back now was that several more officers were on the scene with weapons drawn.

A high pitched squealing sound caught Daniel's attention. Looking down he saw a small mouse that had nearly drown in the sudden flood. The tiny creature was now locked in a life or death battle against his boot, throwing his tiny body at it with blind rage.

"Ohmygod…" Daniel breathed. "Sergeant, do you have any solitary cells here?"

"Yeah, and you're headed there as soon as you get your hands behind your back."

Daniel instantly complied and put his hand firmly behind his back. One of the officers came in and quickly secured his wrists with handcuffs. Hit with a wave of nausea Daniel ground his teeth together to keep from being sick. Dripping wet he peacefully allowed them to lead him off to solitary.

The solitary rooms were small with solid metal doors that held a small window with wire reinforced glass. Daniel stepped inside and turned around before they had a chance to remove the cuffs. He backed up until he hit the far wall, afraid that the rage was going to take a hold of him again at any minute. The Sergeant noticed the sudden change and looked at Daniel critically.

"Sergeant, I apologize for everything, please, please, do me a favour."

"You need me to contact your doctor?"

"Something like that. I'm in the Air Force." Daniel lied. "I need you to call General Hammond right away, 555-7615. Until he gets here, don't let anyone in this room."

"General Hammond?"

"Yes. Tell him that there is a 'Wild Fire' situation."

"Wild Fire?"

"Yes, please."

"What's 'Wild Fire'?"

"I think I am."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

"Dr. Jackson?"

Hammond waited outside Daniel's closed office door for a moment. The General had woken up with a headache and deep sense of guilt gnawing at his stomach. He remembered his every word to Daniel, but in the light of a brand new day he didn't know what had caused his rash and callous decision. He felt that at the time he'd had a reason, but he couldn't think of it now.

"Dr. Jackson?" Hammond knocked again. "It's General Hammond, I need to talk to you."

After another minute of stony silence Hammond decided to just invite himself inside. The door was unlocked, as always. Opening the door he stepped into the organized chaos of Daniel's office. There was an amazing amount of stuff in the small office, but there was one thing missing: Daniel.

Not overly concerned Hammond went looking for the wayward archeologist. He knew that he could simply ask Daniel to his office over the PA system. However, since he was seeking Daniel out to give an apology he felt it best to hunt him down on his own. On his way through the halls he came across Teal'c who was talking with a young woman who the General knew to be Captain Turner.

"You make me laugh, Teal'c." Captain Turner said with a touch of flush. "Are you allowed off Base for things like…dinner?"

"Indeed."

"Seven then?"

"It would be an honour."

Teal'c smiled brighter than Hammond could ever remember seeing. He wasn't even fully confident that he had ever actually seen Teal'c smile. It was one of those things that he could imagine either way. Kind of like when you can't remember if locked the front door or not, you can easily remember it either way without knowing which one is the truth.

"Teal'c." Hammond greeted. "Captain."

"General, Sir." The young Captain jolted. "I was…uh…just getting back to work, Sir."

"At ease, Captain." Hammond chuckled.

Captain Turner giggled as well and after one last look at Teal'c she scurried off down the hall. Teal'c watched her leave, the smile still on his lips, before turning back to Hammond. The General was pleased to see the Jaffa in a good mood for once. Not that Teal'c was often in a bad mood, he just more often seemed to be in no discernable mood whatsoever.

"General Hammond," Teal'c said with a slight bow "I would like to speak to you on the behalf of Daniel Jackson."

"I was just about to ask you if you've seen him."

"I have not."

"If you see him, can you tell him I'm looking for him?"

"Yes. Is your intention to return him to the team?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact it is."

"Then I will endeavor to find him for you."

"Thank you, Teal'c." Hammond smiled and then found himself chuckling.

"May I ask what is laughable?"

"Nothing. If you see Colonel O'Neill or Major Carter send them my way as well."

Teal'c nodded and continued down a different hall. Feeling in a better mood than before Hammond continued his way through the SGC. He checked all of the places that Daniel tended to haunt. Not only did he fail to find Daniel, but he was surprised that Jack hadn't appeared either. He knew that Jack wasn't going to give up so easily on getting Daniel back on the team and he was surprised that Jack wasn't on his case by now.

Hammond was about to give in and just go back to his office and call for Daniel when the off world activation alarms went off. Making his way directly to the control room he was just in time to see an injured SG-7 limp their way through the Gate. Colonel Knudson was being supported by two of his teammates as they made their way down the ramp.

There was a medical team already in the Gateroom and quickly met Knudson with a gurney. Hammond waited long enough to see the Gate close before heading down to the infirmary. The Colonel growled in pain as they transferred him onto one of the cold metal tables. He had a large number of minor scrapes and bruises. At the root of his pain was a compound fracture to his lower leg. One of the bones could be seen poking through his torn pant leg.

"Colonel, what happened?"

"I slipped and fell off a ledge, Sir." Knudson replied. "My own fault, General, sorry."

"Don't worry about it, I'm just glad it wasn't enemy action. We'll do a briefing later."

"Thank you, Sir."

"Sir?" One of the nurses called.

"Yes?"

"Dr. Frasier did not report to the infirmary today."

"Really? Can you handle Colonel Knudson's leg?"

"Yes, Sir. Dr. Brighton can see him." The nurse replied. "However, it isn't like Dr. Frasier to be late."

"Noted. I will look into it."

"Thank you, Sir."

Feeling increasingly unease Hammond made his way up to his office. The little red light that let him know he had messages was blinking madly. Sitting down he took a deep breath before going to check the message, having a bad feeling about it. When things went wrong around the SGC things tended to snowball into an avalanche very quickly. Before he had a change to get to the message the phone rang.

"General Hammond."

"Thank Christ." A tired voice swore on the other end of the line.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm sorry, General, I have been trying to get a hold of you all night."

"Who is this? This is my private line, not the emergency one."

"Well this is an emergency. I'm Sergeant Harris, and I've got one of your boys down here and he is a serious trouble maker. Now normally I'd keep him here for the bar fight and officer assault charges, but clearly he's mentally unstable and since I have a high level of respect for the Armed Forces I'm going to release him into your custody."

"Thank you Sergeant." Hammond said gratefully. "Tell Colonel O'Neill I'll be there in five minutes."

"O'Neill? No, Jackson."

"What?"

"Daniel Jackson."

Hammond was rendered momentarily speechless. The thought of Daniel being held on bar fighting and assault charges was so far from the reality that Hammond was used to that it was almost impossible to even imagine.

"General? Is Jackson one of your boys?"

"Yes." Hammond replied instantly. "I'm on my way."

"Okay, thanks."

"Thank you."

"Oh, one more thing, he told me to tell you that he thought there was a Campfire situation or something like that."

"Campfire?"

"No, that's not right…uh…Wild, that's it Wildfire."

"Wildfire… Sergeant, listen to me very carefully, I need you to close down the station until I get there." Hammond said as he got to his feet.

"Close it down?"

"No one in or out, and no one is to have contact with Dr. Jackson."

"No one wants contact with him, he's crazy."

"Just keep your distance, we're on our way."

"Wait…General, what's going on? Are my men safe?"

"Wildfire is a code word for a possible spreadable containment, during a Wildfire directive isolation is absolute."

"Nothing in, nothing out. Got it."

Hammond hung up the phone and dialed down to his containment team. Within minutes they were in the briefing room waiting for orders. Hammond dialed down to Sam's lab but got no response. General Hammond dialed into the PA system instead.

"Colonel O'Neill, Major Carter, and Teal'c to the briefing room immediately."

Hammond had just hung up the phone when the intercom buzzed.

"Hammond."

"Sir, this is the front gate, I just heard your PA. Colonel O'Neill, and Major Carter have not signed in today."

"Thank you, Airman."

Before jumping to any conclusions Hammond dialed Jack's home, but no one picked up, not even the answering machine. Hanging up the phone with a heavy sigh Hammond walked out into the briefing room. Everyone was there and ready to go. Hammond gave them a quick rundown on the fact that they might have a contamination threat. The team assured the General they were ready to handle any issue and went into action.

"Teal'c, the rest of SG-1 didn't mention anything about going on strike today did they?"

"They did not."

"Okay, one problem at a time. Would you like to come with us to get Dr. Jackson?"

"Yes."

"Grab a hat and let's go."

The scene at the police station was one of organized chaos. Any officer that hadn't been into the station yet was now standing in the parking lot keeping the days catch in line. The contamination team offered General Hammond hazmat gear, but he declined. Teal'c followed close on his heels as he went into the station.

"General Hammond, I'm glad you're here." Sergeant Harris greeted. "I've got Jackson in solitary, but he's not doing well."

"What exactly is wrong with him?"

"For lack of a better word he's in a rage."

"A rage?"

"You'll see."

The Sergeant lead Hammond and Teal'c back towards the hall that held the solitary cells. As they came to the door Hammond noticed that the small window had blood spattered across it. He looked in through the window and saw Daniel pacing back and forth like a tiger in a cage. His hands were still cuffed behind his back and blood ran down his face from his temple and lip. When he turned around he revealed that he'd also pulled on the metal cuffs hard enough to cut into the skin and blood dripped from his wrists. He was grinding his teeth together and growling to himself.

"Dr. Jackson?"

Daniel turned and his eyes narrowed into slits. Barring his teeth he charged the door. Slamming into the door he splashed more blood across the window. Hammond took a step back in surprise. He felt his own temper rising once again and looked to Sergeant Harris who was staring at Daniel with murderous intent. The Sergeant had picked up a long handled Tazer that had been laying by the door.

"Have you opened this door since putting him in here, Sergeant?"

"When he started screaming and beating himself bloody we had to do something."

"What happened?"

Sergeant Harris didn't answer immediately. He turned his eyes to the floor in what looked like embarrassment.

"Sergeant, what happened?" Hammond repeated in a tone that was not to be ignored.

"One of my men…um…almost killed him with a Tazer." Harris admitted. "It's how he got the cut in his temple, the Tazer will only fire so many times in a row in quick succession, so he hit him with it. They were like two pitbulls in a ring. We couldn't get Louis off him, had to turn the hose on them again."

"Again?"

"Jackson started a fight with three cellmates and it was the only way to get them apart. I have to admit, after a dousing Jackson seemed to calm down. Honestly I don't know what is going on…it's like he brings out the dark side of anyone who touches him."

"Maybe that's exactly what's happening." Hammond nodded thoughtfully before turning to the window again. "Dr. Jackson?"

"Hammond, get me the &*%$ out of here!!" Daniel snarled. "I…I'm sorry, I can't…I'm so angry…"

"It's alright, Dr. Jackson, we're going to get you out of here."

"No!" Daniel cried. "No! Open that door and I will kill you! Or you will kill me, stay back!"

"Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said softly "we are your friends, we have no desire to harm you."

"I have every intention of harming you." Daniel hissed. "I don't know why…"

"Dr. Jackson, clearly you are ill." Hammond said. "We are going to help you."

"You can't help me! You don't even know what's wrong with me!"

"He has a point, General." The Sergeant said.

"You said he calmed down when doused?"

"Yes, Sir."

"That's a place to start, let's get him wet."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

While Daniel was busy making new friends in the county lock up Jack was pacing in a cage of his own. Torn between fear for himself and fear for his teammates he walked endless circled his living room. Feeling tears slip down his face Jack suddenly slapped himself violently across the cheek.

"Get a hold of yourself, Jack!" Jack snarled to himself. "That is an order, Colonel!"

Although the order had come from his own lips it did help him briefly. The flash of pain across his face was enough to let him make a decision. Valuing his team's safety over his own he snatched his car keys off the coffee table.

With his hand on the door Jack paused. His heart was beating so hard he could hear it pounding in his ears. When he tried to open the front door his throat closed up on him, making it nearly impossible to breath. Welding his eyes shut Jack whimpered pitifully as his agoraphobia brought him to his knees.

"There is nothing out there to be afraid of." Jack said out loud. "Get up, you are not going to allow yourself to die on your knees after everything you've faced in the past."

Convinced he was going to be gunned down at any moment Jack struggled to his feet to ensure that he didn't die like coward when the bullet came. Still unable to open the door he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. He dialed Sam's number and it started to ring.

"Come on, Carter, pick up…pick up…let me know you're alright. Please…"

_"You have reached the voice mail box of…Samantha Carter…to leave a voice mail press one or just wa…"_

"Damn it!"

Jack closed the small phone and stared at it, hoping that Sam would quickly call him back. When nothing happened he automatically assumed the worst. Pocketing the phone he checked the sidearm in his hand. Other than the three rounds he had put in his answering machine the weapon was in full working order. Jack took a deep breath and put his hand on the door knob again.

"Open it." Jack ordered. "They'll kill her if you don't stop them. Open the door, Colonel."

Shaking like a leaf in the wind Jack managed to turn the door knob and push the door open enough to look out. He scanned the darkness, looking for the hidden enemy that he felt in his bones was near. Not seeing anyone he made a mad dash for his car. Once in the vehicle he felt a little safer. It wasn't until he put the key into the ignition that his blood flashed to ice again.

"Wha…what if they've wired the car to explode? I'll be dead the instant I turn the key."

After looking around Jack ripped open the glove box and pulled out all the contents. There was a small pocket knife in the glove box which he grabbed. Slipping out of his car he raced down his driveway, sticking to the shadows. When he came to the neighbors house he broke in their car window with his elbow and let himself in.

Reaching under the steering column Jack yanked the wires out. He selected a few and cut them. Stripping off the plastic coating he brushed the wires together until he managed to hotwire the car into starting. He felt better having stolen a car, it would throw off anyone tracking him down by his license plate number.

Jack gripped the wheel to keep his growing tremors under control. Throwing the car into reverse he peeled out of the driveway and onto the streets. His heart jumped into his throat every time a pair of headlights came into view. When a car pulled up behind him he turned off down a side street to make sure they weren't intentionally following him.

Taking a back route towards Sam's house Jack found himself on a lonely winding road through the forests that surround Colorado Springs. The nearly full moon was casting hard shadows from the trees across the road. Coming to a bend in the road the cell phone in Jack's pocket rang shrilly.

"Yaaaa!"

Nearly jumping out of his skin from the sudden noise Jack jerked the wheel of car. Careening off the road Jack slammed on the breaks as the vehicle plunged off the small embankment and into the forest. Skidding on the slippery leaf littered forest floor the car slammed into a tree.

Jack wasn't sure if he'd lost consciousness or not. Leaning back he moaned against a severe headache. There was a buzzing sound in his ears that turned to an insistent ringing. Reaching up Jack gingerly touched the cut above his eye and felt his hand turn sticky with blood. The ringing continued and he slowly realized it was his cell phone. Taking it out of his pocket he looked at it before opening it.

"H…hello?"

"_Colonel, it's Sam, something's wrong…there are lights everywhere, I don't…I don't know what's happening. Where are we?"_

_ "Who are you talking to?" _Janet's voice asked.

"_I…uh…I have to go...Janet is…breathtaking. Elvis is here…"_

"Elvis?" Jack asked the disconnected line.

Still dazed from the accident Jack pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it. He pressed the redial, but Sam didn't answer this time. Closing the phone he put it back in his pocket. After a moment's indecision Jack opened the door and went to get out of the damaged vehicle.

Jack was not as steady on his feet as he recalled being. Falling to his hands and knees he wrapped his arms over his stomach. It felt like there was an eel slithering around in his guts. Pushed over the edge Jack threw up into the leaf litter. Once he started heaving he couldn't seem to stop. Spitting bile Jack gagged from retching too hard. Forcing himself to his feet Jack stumbled a few yards away from his stolen car before leaning against a tree.

"Are you okay?" A female voice rang out.

Jack jerked his head up and stared at the woman up on the side of the road. Back lit by the headlights of her own car she looked like she was glowing. Panting for breath Jack slowly started to back away from her.

"I called 9-1-1, they will be here soon."

Terrified Jack turned around and bolted into the dark forest. He could hear the woman shouting after him, but it just pushed him to run faster. Eventually he came to a point where he simply couldn't run any more. Gasping for breath he doubled over as he tried to calm his racing heart.

"Can't stay still, they'll find me…have to keep moving."

Jack used his own voice to get himself moving again. Without having any idea where he was he continued deeper into the woods. Sweat was dripping off his skin and blood ran down his face from the cut above his eye. Blinded by the sting of sweat and the sticky blood Jack didn't notice the small cabin he was coming to until he heard a deep barking.

Stopping cold in his tracks Jack looked up at the German Sheppard that was standing outside the cabin. The dog folded her ears back and barked sharply at Jack. Tucking her tail the dog continued to bark, but was retreating backwards towards the house. Jack was frozen to the spot, staring at the large dog.

"Ginger?" A man called out. "Ginger, what's wrong girl?"

Ginger stopped her barking and began yelping and whining. Pressed up against the door she howled for her master to save her. The door of the cabin opened and the dog scrambled inside. A few seconds later an older man holding a shot gun tightly in both hands stepped out on the porch.

"Who's there?!" The man demanded. "Sh…show yourself!"

"I…I…I think I need help." Jack stuttered as he came out of the shadows.

"Hold it right there!"

"I'm not going to hurt you, please, don't hurt me."

"What are you doing out here?!"

"I don't know…I think I was in a car accident."

Panting for breath Jack took a step close to the armed stranger. His instinct was screaming at him to run, but his mind was starting to realize that something was out of place. The suspicious cabin owner took a step closer as well and suddenly gripped his gun tighter and backed away.

"Go away!" The man cried in terror.

"Please, help me." Jack begged. "I'm so scared…and it's not like me to be afra…"

Jack was stopped short as the man fired the shot gun. Jack cried out as a fiery pain lanced through his shoulder. Knocked to the ground by the blow he could hear the cabin door slamming shut. Laying on the ground Jack arched his back and screamed in a combination of pain and terror.

Ignoring the flare of pain caused by his every motion Jack got to his feet and started running again. The next time he fell he curled up in the fetal position and began weeping like a lost child. Any thought of getting help had been replaced by the fear of going near another living soul. Crying himself breathless Jack tried to get back to his feet once again and ended up dry heaving again.

"Ca…can't stay still…have to keep moving…they'll find me."

Adrenaline helped Jack get back to his feet. He was afraid to look at the wound in his shoulder, he didn't think he could bear to see the gore. He could feel the throbbing pain and the hot slick of blood that was running down his arm where it dripped off his fingers. Lost in both the woods and in his panic he forced himself to run again.

After what felt like hours Jack was stopped in his tracks by a large body of water. The moon reflected off the calm surface of the deep lake in a perfect mirror image. Suddenly dying of thirst Jack dropped to his knees and drank deeply from the cold water.

The refreshing water felt so good that he began to wade into it. Once he was in deep enough Jack dove under the surface. Coming up for a breath Jack shook his head and looked around. The sky was just starting to turn red with the coming dawn. Knitting his brow in confusion Jack made his way back to the shore.

Sitting on a large flat rock Jack took a few deep breaths. He vaguely recalled his previous panic and the chaotic flight through the forest, but he didn't understand any of it. The painful throbbing at his shoulder told him that it hadn't been a dream. Looking down he pulled his shirt away from the wound.

"What the…"

Jack stared at his flesh as blood began to bead his skin once again. He had expected to see a large gory hole from the gunshot wound. However the dip in the lake had washed the injury clean and revealed it to be a few dozen tiny holes. Each one was oozing blood once again. Pinching one of the wounds a tiny brass pellet came out.

"Birdshot." Jack grumbled.

Shivering from being soaking wet in the pre-dawn hour Jack tried his hardest to figure out what was going on. Giving up he fished into his pocket to pull out his cell phone. Opening the phone water poured out of it. It had been destroyed when he'd taken his swim.

"Great, perfect, wonderful, peachy even."

Grinding his teeth together in pain Jack growled as he got to his feet. Although the birdshot had not penetrated very deep it still hurt. Before he could get more than a few steps Jack slipped on the slick lake shore rocks. Stepping back to try and keep his balance Jack cried out in pain as his foot slid between two large rocks and twisted his ankle.

Forced to sit down Jack felt the edge of panic creeping back over him. He tried to free his booted foot from between the stones but it was wedge tight. As his sprained ankle began to swell it further locked his foot in the crevice. More annoyed than anything else Jack continued to try and free himself.

The sun started to rise higher in the sky and after a few hours of work Jack was still ensnared like a bear that had stepped in a trap. His clothing never got a chance to dry, only now the clean water had been replaced by sweat. He cried out for help over and over again, but his voice just fell on the empty woods.

Giving up on both his foot and his calls for help Jack laid back on the stones of the lake shore. Despite the warming sun his blood was running cold in his veins. Every breath was difficult as his throat constricted with fear. He was parched with thirst, but the lake was a few inches out of his reach. Staring up at the sky Jack came to what he felt was the only logical conclusion.

"I…I'm going to die out here…"


	15. Chapter 15

NOTE: There is some harsh language in Japanese in this chapter...you have been warned.

Chapter Fifteen

"Dr. Jackson? How are you feeling?"

"Exhausted, General. More than a little guilty."

"Understandable."

"No, no…" Daniel raked his hands through his still damp hair "I don't understand any of this!"

General Hammond sighed and looked at Daniel sympathetically. They had managed to calm him with a cold bath from the fire hose at the station. Back at the SGC they had confined him to one of the new isolation rooms. On the deepest level into the mountain they had constructed six rooms that were one hundred percent cut off from the population, it even had a separate water and air supply from the SGC. Communication came through a speaker system.

Hammond had fought hard to get the funding for the set up, after several brushes with alien diseases he had won the argument for the need. The room looked like a striped down version of one of the VIP rooms. Five feet into the room there was a glass wall that separated and allowed for observation without contamination. The door into the enclosure had a positive pressure set up, one door lead into a small decontamination space that had a secondary door that opened into the area where Daniel was.

Glancing up at the vital signs monitor on his side of the glass Hammond noticed Daniel's heart rate and blood pressure were starting to rise. Daniel was sitting on the edge of the bed, but looked like he wanted to pace. Whatever it was about the water that had reversed the effects on himself and others was wearing off. Daniel's chest was starting to heave with his every breath as he struggled to stay calm.

"Dr. Jackson…"

"Where's Jack?" Daniel demanded. "Were is he?!"

"Don't worry about Colonel O'Neill at the moment. Right now we need to figure out what is happening with you. Can you tell me…"

"No!" Daniel roared as he jumped up. "No! I'm not telling you anything until I see my friends! You can't just lock me up, you have no right to hold me here! Let me go!"

"Try to take it easy, Dr. Jackson."

"Hhayaku inaku nareyo!" Daniel spat vehemently.

"Wha…"

With a wild look in his icy blue eye Daniel charged the glass wall. The Airman in the room took a step back, but Hammond just stood there as Daniel slammed into the clear barrier. Daniel hit the sturdy glass as though he hadn't known it was there. Knocked back to the floor he was a little slow to sit up. After shaking his head he looked up at Hammond sharply.

"I'm sorry, it's happening again."

"What exactly is happening?" Hammond asked.

"I'm getting angry, I taste blood…my heart is pounding. Why aren't you helping me?!"

"Why don't you take a shower?" Hammond asked calmly.

"Why don't you take a…" Daniel stopped himself by physically biting down on his lip. "I'm sorry…"

"It's okay, take a shower."

Nodding in silent agreement Daniel stormed off into the small bathroom, slamming the door behind himself. Hammond sighed again but sudden smiled. Teal'c stepped into the small section of the divided room. He looked for Daniel for a moment before turning to Hammond.

"Any report from the search team?" Hammond asked.

"Colonel O'Neill was not at his home." Teal'c announced. "The front door was left open. His vehicle was still in the driveway with the keys inside. It would appear that his closest neighbors had their own vehicle stolen, it was later found by police crashed into a tree. A woman who had witnessed the crash called 9-1-1. She has positively identified Colonel O'Neill as the driver, however, she reports that he ran away."

"Ran away?"

"Correct. The woman reported that he appeared frightened."

"So Dr. Jackson gets arrested while Colonel O'Neill steals a car and runs it into a tree." Hammond summarized. "Not to mention that Major Carter and Dr. Frasier are both still AWOL as well."

"Indeed."

Despite the situation Hammond chuckled at Teal'c stoic manner. Teal'c raised a disapproving eye brow at the General but said nothing. Daniel came out of the shower with one towel wrapped around his waist and another in his hands that he was using to dry his hair. There was a patch over his heart that was transmiting his vital signs to the monitor. He walked up to the glass and forced a smile.

"Hey, Teal'c." Daniel greeted.

"Feeling better, Dr. Jackson?" Hammond asked.

"Much. I'm sorry for what I said, Sir."

"What did you say?"

"I'd…uh…I'd rather not translate." Daniel flushed. "It wasn't polite."

"I see." Hammond smiled. "Is there any particular reason you're wearing just a towel?"

"Oh…uh…my clothing made me angry when I touched it. I think whatever is causing this is seeping from my skin."

"Which would explain why water make it better, it washes it off."

"It must." Daniel nodded. "Could I get some more clothes?"

"I don't know…if you're just going to ruin them." Hammond teased.

"General?"

"I'm sorry. Of course we'll get you something clean to wear."

"Thanks." Daniel looked over at Teal'c. "Teal'c, how are you doing?"

"I am well, Daniel Jackson."

"Good to hear. Where are Jack and Sam?"

"We are endeavoring to find them."

"Wait…they're missing?"

"We'll find them, Dr. Jackson." Hammond assured.

"What if they are like me? I could have killed someone last night if I hadn't picked on guys bigger than me."

"We will find them." Hammond repeated. "Get some rest, Dr. Jackson, you look ready to pass out."

"Yeah…long night." Daniel admited. "I'd like to apologize in advance for anything I might say or do when I wake up."

"Don't worry about it."

Daniel took a breath to say more, but simply closed his eyes and nodded. He looked like every motion took effort as he walked over to the bed. Crawling under the sheets he pulled off the towel he'd been wearing and tossed it onto the floor. The gentle beating of the heart monitor betrayed the fact that Daniel was asleep almost before he'd closed his eyes.

"Teal'c, get a search party together, make sure a few men from containment are on it. Take them out to where the car was found and find Colonel O'Neill, be careful he could be dangerous or worse he could make you dangerous."

"There is rain in the forecast."

"Perfect, find him."

Teal'c gave Hammond a deep bow and left. Hammond was about to leave when the heart monitor started to sing. Daniel was no longer sleeping peacefully. His chest rose and fell dramatically as he struggled for breath. Gripping the sheets he arched his back and growled. Locked in a dream he bared his teeth like an animal and snarled incoherently.

Dr. Brightman had been alerted to the sudden change in blood pressure and heart rate and had hustled into the room. Seeing that her patient was in distress she instantly went to open the first glass door. Hammond reached out and stopped her.

"I'm sorry, Doctor, you can't go in there."

"Dr. Jackson could have a stroke if his blood pressure continues to rise and fall like this."

"He's just going to have to ride it out until we have a better handle on what is going on."

"And if he crashes?"

"I'll have some hazmat gear brought up, but I want to keep contact with him to an absolute minimum."

"Yes, Sir." Dr. Brightman nodded. "Sir?"

"Yes?"

"Has there been any word from Dr. Frasier?"

"No, I'm afraid there hasn't."

"I could really use her help right about now." Dr. Brightman sighed.

"Don't worry, we'll find her."

Dr. Brightman nodded, but didn't look too sure. She glanced at Daniel and his heart monitor before leaving with a concerned look on her face. Hammond had kept to himself the fact that investigation had revealed that Janet had taken a large amount of cash out of her account last night before disappearing. Feeling more than a little stressed Hammond left Daniel and went to his office. Moments after he sat down Colonel Hutchison rushed into his office.

"Sir…"

The Colonel was cut off as Hammond's phone rang. He was going to ignore it until he saw that it was the emergency line that was buzzing. Hammond held his hand up to the Colonel, who looked like he was going to crawl out of his skin at any moment. The Colonel clearly had something important to say, but he waited.

"Hammond."

_"General!"_ Janet cried with obvious relief. _"General, Major Carter and I are in trouble."_

"What's happening? Where are you?"

_"I don't really know what's going on…some sort of drug maybe."_ Janet started to sound hysterical_. " I…Sam…uh…she's in the shower, she doesn't dare get out. Something about the water…"_

"Doctor, calm down."

_"Y…yes, Sir."_

"Where are you?"

_"Uh…Las Vegas."_

"Las Vegas?" Hammond repeated shocked.

_"Yes, Sir. The Bellagio."_

"Okay, hold tight. I am going to call Nellis Base and have them send a team to retrieve you both."

_"I think we need hazmat precautions."_

"Understood. We'll have you both at the SGC by nightfall."

_"Thank you, Sir." _

Hammond hung up the phone. Part of him was relieved to know where Janet and Sam were, the other part was still reeling about the fact that the pair had fled to Las Vegas. The Colonel in his office stepped forward.

"Sir, we have a problem…"

"A problem worse than having a mild mannered team member suddenly blood thirsty and on the verge of stroke, having a Colonel AWOL, and having our best doctor and physicist jump a flight to Vegas? Because it if it isn't more pressing than any of those issues, I don't want to hear it."

"Yes, Sir, this is more severe than any of that."

"What is it?"

"Every single hospital in Colorado Springs just went Code Black."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

"Thank you, Sir."

Janet hung up the hotel phone and noticed that her hand was shaking violently. Taking a deep breath she tried to get her thoughts back together. She looked down at the towel she was wearing and decided that getting some clothes on would be a good first step. She and Sam had slipped into a shower together, somehow it had broken the spell.

Walking over to her side of the bed Janet gathered up her discarded uniform. They had not gone home to change before flying off to Nevada. As a result the only thing Janet had with her was her medical skirt/blouse combination and the white lab coat. Her blood ran cold with the realization that she and Sam had both been in full uniform while roaming Las Vegas.

"I should call to get my dress blues dry cleaned for the court-martial to save time." Janet sighed.

Crawling into the uniform Janet sniffed distastefully at the reek of alcohol on it. Struck with a nauseating dizziness Janet stumbled back a few steps. Fearing she was going to be ill Janet rushed into the large hotel bathroom. Dropping to her knees on the marble floor she wretched violently into the gold rimmed toilet.

"Janet? You okay?"

"I have no idea." Janet replied. "How are you doing?"

"I'm just glad this place has a seemingly unending supply of hot water."

Janet chuckled and sat down with her back leaned against the wall. Sam was sitting in the tub with the shower spray cascading down on her. The glass door had a layer of fog on it that Sam reached out and removed so she could better see Janet. The pair forced smiles, unsure of what to do or even say.

"Janet, what are we going to do?"

"We're going to figure out what is happening." Janet said firmly. "Whatever this is it seems to wash of my skin, but not yours. That really only leaves one explanation."

"I'm producing it."

"I'm afraid so."

"This doesn't make any sense, I mean I've been on leave for a month. What could I possibly have gotten into? I spent most of the time just tending my garden."

"Any usual events or feelings during that time?"

"No." Sam replied instantly. "I did get a little…lonely."

"Lonely?"

"I don't know many people off Base. Make that I don't really know anyone. By the time leave was over, I was missing human contact."

"Sam, I've known you for years and if it is one thing you are not it's someone who 'misses human contact'." Janet said seriously. "You're happier working on your motorcycle than chit-chatting and for as long as I can remember you've treated every social event you've been forced to as though it was a torture session."

"You have a point there." Sam admited with a smile. "However, it doesn't really explain any of this."

"No, it doesn't." Janet sighed.

"So what's our next move, I can't sit in this shower forever."

"I called General Hammond…"

"Oh God," Sam groaned "how did he react?"

"You know he didn't seem all that surprised." Janet noted. "He's talking to Nellis to send a team to retrieve us."

"Janet, could you go get my uniform for me?"

"You want to put it on in the shower?"

"Better than being bare ass naked when the boys from Nellis show up."

"Good point."

Janet smiled and struggled to her feet. She made her way back out into the main area, wondering how much the lavish room must have cost for the night. Looking around she found Sam's Base uniform scattered around. Shaking her head sadly Janet started gathering up the articles of clothing.

Sam's shirt was under the bed and it took a minute for Janet to spot. With the rest of the clothing already in hand Janet held them close to her chest as she knelt down to grab the shirt. With her prize in hand Janet sat back on her heels for a moment.

Taking a breath Janet felt a strange, yet not unfamiliar, heat spread through her veins. Realizing her mistake she automatically gasped, which only made her situation worse. Unsure of what to do Janet tried to get to her feet, but stumbled backwards and landed hard.

"Janet?" Sam called having heard the fall. "Everything alright?"

Janet took a breath to answer however a heavy weight on her heart kept her quiet. Alone in the room Janet fought an overwhelming feeling of isolation. Clutching Sam's uniform to her chest Janet felt as though she wasn't going to survive to the next heartbeat. Tears slipped down her face as she lost herself to the fearful emotion.

"I don't want to die alone…" Janet whimpered.

"Janet?"

Snapping her head up Janet caught sight of Sam. She was standing just outside the bathroom door, wrapped in a towel, dripping water on the plush carpet. The tears streamed down Janet's face harder, but they had changed from ones of sorrow to that of joyful relief. She jumped to her feet and rushed at Sam.

"Whoa!" Sam cried in shock as Janet tackled her.

"Samantha! Please don't leave me alone!" Janet panted breathlessly. "Please, I can't take it."

"Ooookay, back in the shower for you."

"Don't leave me."

"Don't worry," Sam assured "I'm coming with you."

Smiling brightly Janet went in for an aggressive kiss. Sam was fast enough to get her hand up and Janet ended up with her lips pressed against Sam's palm. Janet flushed, but didn't seem to truly regret her attempt. Sam rolled her eyes and took her friend by the shoulders to lead her to the still running shower.

"Into the shower, Young Lady." Sam clucked.

"Yes, Ma'am." Janet purred.

"You must be making whatever this is after all."

Janet wasn't listening, she only had eyes for Sam once again. Sam shoved her under the still hot spray of the shower. As a last minute thought she snatched her discarded uniform that Janet had dropped in favour of a hug.

"Sam, no!" Janet cried. "Don't touch them, it's on your clothes!"

Sam froze before touching the heap of cloth. She looked back at Janet and could see that her friend was back in her right mind. She didn't have that spacey dreamy look in her dark eyes. When there was a sharp knock at the door Sam snatched the clothing up.

"Sam, what are you doing?"

"Risking it."

Making a mad dash for the shower Sam pulled on her now soaked uniform. The pair jolted as the knocking turned to the sharp crack of the door being busted in. Sam looked at Janet who was looking about as comfortable as a wet cat. Sam shook her head sadly and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Sam? Are you okay?"

"Janet, I'm stuck in a shower with my best friend and fellow Airwoman, with whom I've acted completely inappropriately with in both public and private, in an expensive casino/hotel in Las Vegas, about to be taken under quarantine precautions by the USAF, who will most likely lock us up in glass cages possibly for the rest of our natural lives because there is no telling what is wrong with us or if it can be stopped."

"So…I take it that's a 'no'?"

Sam paused for a moment and stared at Janet. The young doctor looked back at her with a false innocent 'what?' look on her face. Forced to laugh Sam reached out pulled Janet into a friendly hug. Janet chuckled as well and accepted the hug. She looked over Sam's shoulder at the six armed men in haz-mat suits that were crowding into the marble floored bathroom. The pair instantly separated from each other as far as they could in the shower. An older Colonel stepped forward from the haz-mat team.

"Major Carter, and Dr. Frasier?"

"Yes. This…uh..." Sam stuttered. "This isn't…"

"Don't worry, Ma'am," the Colonel smiled "You know what they say."

"Uh, no, what do 'they' say?"

"What happens in Vegas…stays in Vegas."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

"General?"

"Yes, I'm still here." Hammond sighed.

"We need every medical personal you can spare."

"You've already got them…at least the ones I can find."

"How many of your people are missing?"

"Thirty-five."

"General…" The mayor hesitated. "Other than knowing you're a high security Air Force Base I really don't know what it is that goes on down there, but if you have anything to do with this epidemic…"

"I have no better idea what is going on than you do." Hammond interrupted sharply.

"I'm calling in the National Guard."

"I recommend it."

"If I find out tha…"

"Good day, Mayor."

Hammond hung up the phone and pinched the bridge of his nose. It was only ten in the morning and everything had turned to chaos. The city was in a full blow panic, literally. The hospitals had been flooded with acute panic attack patients, quickly followed by a rash of gunshot wounds, stabbings, and car accidents. Whatever it was it was spreading fast with no epicenter or apparent connection between incidents. Hammond picked up his phone and dialed out.

"Yes, Sir?" Teal'c's deep voice answered.

"Any luck on finding Colonel O'Neill?"

"The early morning rain has removed his trail."

"Is it still raining?"

"It is not."

"Okay, keep looking."

"Yes, Sir."

Hanging up the phone again Hammond looked up at a Major who had knocked hesitantly on his door. The door was open, but the visitor did not step inside.

"Yes, Major?"

"I…uh…uh…Major Carter, and Dr. Frasier have arrived." The Major stuttered. "They are in quarantine."

"Thank you."

Getting up from his desk Hammond walked around to head towards the elevators. The Major scurried out of his way. On his way he caught sight of something he was in desperate need of. The coffee pot in the briefing room had just finished dripping so the coffee would be fresh and hot. Sliding over Hammond grabbed a quick cup before heading down to the lowest level. The coffee was too hot to drink at first so he just carried it with him.

The elevator seemed to be taking forever as he made his way down to the quarantine level. When the doors opened he could already hear yelling. Daniel was screaming and snarling in a variety of different languages. Before visiting the others the General walked down to the room where Daniel was being held.

There was a nurse trying to calm Daniel from the far side of the glass without any results. Daniel's face was flushed with sweat rolling off his skin. Hammond quietly dismissed the nurse who was more than happy to leave. Hammond walked up to the glass and looked at Daniel. He had been given a supply of white scrubs so that he could change often, but this pair was already smeared in blood.

Daniel resembled a dog in the throes of rabies. The once placid young man was now wild and furious. Panting for breath Daniel barred his teeth at the General before charging the glass. Knowing the barrier was there Daniel threw his shoulder into the strong glass several times before backing up and screaming incoherently. Blood dripped from his knuckles from where he'd beaten them against his captivity.

"Dr. Jackson…"

"Let me go!" Daniel demanded. "I will kill every last one of you if you don't let me out of here!"

"I have a feeling you'd try killing us if we did."

Narrowing his eyes Daniel rushed up and punched the glass right in front of Hammond's face. Hammond didn't flinch. Howling in a combination of pain and rage Daniel backed away. He cradled his hand to his chest, glaring spitefully at the General.

"Dr. Jackson, I need you to…"

"No! Let me out of here!"

"If you take a shower, change your clothes, we'll talk about your release."

Daniel spat violently at the glass, resentful of being forced into a bargin. However, after a moment of consideration he nodded. Hammond waited while the shower ran, sipping at his almost forgotten coffee. A few minutes later Daniel came out in a new pair of scrubs, and a guilty look on his face. With his towel still in hand he stepped up to the glass and cleaned off the blood and saliva.

"I'm so sorry, General. I…I can't stop myself once I get past a certain point."

"Understandable, however for you own safety I think you should be restrained."

"No, please, I'll do better." Daniel begged. "I won't let it go so far next time, I'll take a shower every ten minutes if I have to…please."

"Alright, Dr. Jackson, but if you continue to hurt yourself against the glass we'll have no choice."

"Yes, Sir. Thank you." Daniel nodded sadly. "Have you found Jack?"

"Not yet."

"He's in trouble, isn't he?"

"He's not the only one. There is a major health crisis going on, all the hospitals in the area have gone Code Black."

"Black?"

Hammond didn't seem to hear Daniel's question. He furrowed his brow as a sickening sensation started to take over his stomach. Hammond reached up and rubbed at his chest as he heart started to pound.

"General?"

Hammond startled at Daniel's voice, dropping the cup of half drunk coffee. Daniel took a step forward in concern causing the General to take a step back.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Jackson, what were you asking?"

"I was asking you what Code Black means."

"It calls all doctors back to the hospitals in time of a public health threat or flood of critical patients." Hammond answered vacantly.

"The whole city is like me?" Daniel asked alarmed.

"There have been a lot of gunshot wounds, but mostly panic, self defense, not violence."

"Panic?"

"Yeah…" Hammond took a few more steps away. "I..I have to go."

"Wait, are you feeling okay?"

"No." Hammond admitted. "I'm feeling…"

"Fearful?"

"Something like that."

"Jack," Daniel concentrated for a moment "Jack said something to me about being afraid…when was that, a month ago? Did you find Sam?"

"Yes, she and Dr. Frasier ended up in Las Vegas."

"Las Vegas?"

"I haven't had a chance to talk to them about it yet." Hammond replied as he continued to slowly back away from Daniel.

Daniel noticed the General's edgy behviour and then looked down at the spilled coffee. He furrowed his brow as he tried to battle the anger that was slowly starting to needle into his veins once more. Still staring at the coffee stain Daniel started to lose focus. He was recalling the mouse at the police station that had been determined to kill him.

"Dr. Jackson?"

"Was that coffee fresh?"

"Yes, why?"

"I know where Jack is."

"What?"

"The fear is in the water supply…Jack must be at the reservoir."


	18. Chapter 18

Note from the Phoenix: I have been informed that one of our troops overseas is reading this story via e-mails, meaning that I have to step it up a notch and start posting more quickly! Giggle. So in my own attempt to 'Support Our Troops' I stayed up tonight and got this chapter finished up. Forgive me if there are more grammar errros in this one...very sleepy. Thank you to all of you who are overseas and in the Armed Forces in general and hugs to all of you who have friends and family in the Armed Forces I know you sacrifice as well.

Chapter Eighteen

Laying on his back Jack groaned in pain. His shoulder was blazing with agony from the scattered wounds of the birdshot. As the sun rose the sky had quickly clouded over and began to drizzle rain down on him. Although the rain washed the edge of his panic away it was also causing a small river of dilute blood to stream into the near by reservoir.

Jack reached up and gingerly pressed his hand against the seeping wound. The injury was hot to the touch and he knew it wouldn't be long before the rest of his body was taken over by a delirium inducing fever. Grinding his teeth together Jack tried to work his fingers around one of the many puncture wounds. After five minutes he cried out as he managed to rip out one of the small round steel shot pellets.

"One down...one hundred and fifty to go."

An hour later Jack was gasping for every breath. He had removed six of the birdshot pellets, but had done a tremendous amount of damage in the process. Jack felt that he needed to continue until all of the invasive steel was removed, however his hand was shaking too violently. Closing his eyes Jack fought against tears of panic and pain.

"I can't believe after all of this I'm going to die in the woods of Colorado. This is ridiculous."

Ridiculous or not, it was Jack's grim reality. He had given up on freeing his foot, any attempt seemed to just be a waste of energy. Turning his attention back to his shoulder Jack made another clumsy attempt to pull out the shot. Striking a raw nerve Jack yelped as his world twisted sickly around him. Unable to fight the sensation he passed out.

When Jack woke again the sun was beating down on him. He took a shuddering breath and spent a moment trying to slow his racing heart. As he sat up an overwhelming sense of claustrophobia from his trapped foot washed over him. He yanked at his ankle in violent desperation. Despite the courageous effort he was not going to be able to free himself on his own.

Jack dragged his shaky hands through his hair. He still had his sidearm from when he'd escaped his house, it was tucked into the waistband of his pants. Pulling out the sleek weapon he swallowed the bile that had been rising to the back of his throat. He checked the cartridge, unlike his cell phone the weapon was waterproof.

Closing his eyes Jack turned the short muzzle of the gun on his own temple. He took a few deep breaths and tried to force himself to stop shaking. His stomach twisted painfully and the eel that he felt must be swimming in it started bitting him. Heaving a deep sigh he put the gun down on his lap.

Jack hadn't been suicidal, he had just thought that maybe the cold contact of the steel against his skin would help him calm down. As odd as it may seem to some, Jack felt that he always thought best when he was literally 'under the gun'.

"Apparently it doesn't work when I'm the one at the trigger." Jack muttered to himself. "Maybe if I took the safety off."

Unable to get into the shade as the seconds ticked by the warm summer day began to become more uncomfortable. As sweat began to roll down his skin Jack quickly lost touch with reality. Every bird that took flight startled him, ever rustle in the leaf litter was an approaching predator, even the trees seemed to pose a threat.

A few hundred yards away Teal'c made his way through the woods towards the reservoir, on Daniel's advice, with three other members of the SGC. Teal'c moved almost silent through the leaves, however his companions were making enough noise to frighten off a bear. It wasn't their feet that were making all the commotion, it was their voices. Teal'c was finding the men to be uncharacteristically chatty.

Ignoring the jovial Airmen Teal'c continued towards the large lake. Before he broke through the trees he heard a shrill cry. Teal'c picked up the pace and adjusted his course slightly to move towards the sound. Breaking through the trees they found what they had been looking for.

Jack was sitting on the stone that lined the reservoir His shoulder was bleeding heavily, but he had his hands wrapped around his stomach. Breathing heavily he whimpered like a lost puppy. Teal'c furrowed his brow at this odd behavior. He had been expecting the missing Colonel to be violent.

"Colonel O'Neill." Teal'c said as he stepped forward.

Snapping his head up Jack's eyes widened with terror. Without hesitation he raised his weapon and fired in Teal'c's general direction. The three men with Teal'c hit the deck as two bullets came winging their way. Teal'c merely glanced at the tree next to his shoulder that had taken a hit.

"Stay back!" Jack cried.

"Colonel O'Neill," Teal'c replied calmly "we have come to return you to the SGC."

"You're not taking me anywhere!"

Teal'c held his ground as Jack trained his weapon. This time he wouldn't be firing blindly into the trees, now he meant to kill. One of the Airmen told Teal'c to back away, but he ignored the advice and continued moving closer.

"Don't come any closer!"

"You will not harm me, O'Neill."

"I have every right to defend myself..."

"There is no need for defense. I am your friend."

"You're a Jaffa...you can't be trusted."

"Only half of what you say is true." Teal'c replied as he came to stop five feet from Jack.

"Teal'c, please...don't make me do this."

"I am not here to harm you. I am your friend. You are my friend."

Teal'c watched calmly as Jack battled with himself. He looked as though he truly wanted to pull the trigger, but couldn't find the courage. Jack weld his eyes shut and threw his aim nearly straight up before firing until the weapon clicked on empty. The bullets sailed harmlessly into the air and splashed down in the lake. Dropping the gun Jack wrapped his arms over his stomach and started dry heaving. Teal'c waited until he was finished before kneeling down to Jack's level.

Jack was beyond speech, his terror had risen to a point where he could barely move. Teal'c looked over Jack's pinned ankle and pulled out his field knife. Upon seeing the blade Jack's eyes rolled back to white and he promptly passed out. Teal'c raised a disapproving eye brow, but carried on with his plan. It took a full five minutes for Teal'c to cut through the tough leather of Jack's boot.

Once the boot was fully split open it was easier to work Jack's foot free. Unaffected by the fear that was dripping off of Jack's skin Teal'c hoisted him up into his arms. He turned around and noticed that the Airmen who had been with him had bolted. Deciding that he had no real choice Teal'c took Jack back down to the water.

The cold reservoir water snapped Jack awake. He gasped and struggled to free himself from Teal'c grasp. Knowing that the water was going to erase the effects Teal'c released him. Jack swam a few feet away before turning around. He tried to stand in the shallow water, but his ankle prevented him from getting up.

"I'm so sorry, Teal'c..."

"You are ill."

"I could have killed you."

"I highly doubt that you are capable of such a thing."

"How did you get to be so goddamn brave, T?" Jack asked in a half joking voice.

"It is not possible to be brave when you do not fear what you face. To have courage you must act despite fear, and I do not fear you, O'Neill."

"Well I feared you...I was terrified."

"You have been injured."

"Yeah, some wacko fired a round of birdshot at me."

Teal'c nodded as if this made perfect sense. Jack was not amused when Teal'c hoisted him out of the water like a maiden in distress, however there was no way he was walking out of the woods on his own. About halfway back to the road the three Airmen had regained the courage and did all they could to help.

By the time they arrived back at the SGC Jack was feeling more than a little uneasy. Brought inside he was taken down to a quarantine cell immediately. General Hammond was there to welcome Jack back, but the Colonel was now far too anxious to be talked to. Hammond sighed wearily.

"Teal'c, you seem immune, can you help him through the shower?"

"Yes, General. Colonel O'Neill will also require medical assistance."

"I was afraid of that. I'll see what I can do."

Teal'c nodded and carried Jack into the small bathroom in the quarantine room. General Hammond stared at the closed door for a moment before turning to the task at hand. He had ordered all off world teams to neutral worlds to hold tight. Now that they knew it was the water it wasn't spreading, but a lot of damage had been done. He had also sent all of his doctors to local hospitals to try and cope with the wave of patients.

"All the doctors except one." Hammond muttered to himself.

Walking into the quarantine room across the hall from Jack Hammond looked in on Janet. She was pacing back and forth like a tiger in a cage. When she caught sight of Hammond she smiled sadly and stepped up to the glass.

"How are you feeling, doctor?"

"I feel fine, Sir." Janet replied honestly. "How is Major Carter?"

"Crying."

"She's lonely."

"I don't understand. I thought you said her affliction was something to do with a strong love reaction."

"Exactly, imagine having your heart full of love and not having company. Unrequited love is the cruelest of tortures. She's heart broken in isolation."

"I suppose that makes as much sense as anything else around here. However, right now we have a bigger problem on our hands. Colonel O'Neill has been shot."

"You have to let me out of here, you have to let me help him."

"The question is: are you a danger to others?"

"I honestly don't think so, Sir."

"Good enough." Hammond nodded and unlocked the two doors that lead into the glass walled prison. "It's birdshot, you'll have to work in the quarantine room."

"Sir..."

"Doctor, I've already blown containing this thing, I can't keep taking chances. Dr. Jackson's condition is escalating and it may only be a matter of time before this reaches a point where others can't reverse the effect SG-1 seems to have on them. I'm just grateful that the ingestion of tainted water seems to wear off relatively quickly."

"I understand, Sir."

"Good. Gather what you need, treat him as quickly as possible and return to this quarantine for decontamination."

"Yes, Sir."

Janet hurried up to the infirmary to get some basic supplies. She didn't have the time nor the heart to check in on Sam at the moment. Returning with what she felt she would need Janet stepped into room that Jack was being kept in. He was laying on the floor on a towel with his shirt off. Teal'c had been ordered to spend a few hour in quarantine himself to be safe and General Hammond was here to keep a close eye on Jack and Janet.

"Welcome back, Sir." Janet greeted.

"Welcome back yourself, Doc." Jack smiled. "I hear someone took a quick trip to Vegas."

"Unfortunately." Janet knelt down next to Jack.

"I didn't want to get blood all over the bed, sounds like I'm going to be staying here a while." Jack explained without being asked.

"It's a possibility, Sir." Janet inspected the gunshot wound. "Did you try and remove some of the shot yourself?"

"You bet cha."

"Okay, it still doesn't look too bad. I'm going to give you a local and get the rest out. How's your ankle?"

"Painful, but it doesn't feel broken."

"Good. Normally I'd do an X-ray, but I can't do that today."

"Just do what you can."

Janet smiled and nodded. She injected a local anesthetic into the area around the wound and waited a moment before starting. It was painstaking work to check each of the tiny wounds for a piece of shot. The digging that Jack had done made matters worse because he had driven some of them deeper.

Jack ground his teeth together as pain broke through local. Janet apologized but continued to work. It was taking far longer than she had anticipated to stitch up the holes and she still wasn't sure that she had all of the shot out. Only an X-ray could tell her that, but she knew she's never get that past the General at this point. When she started to feel herself becoming nervous she finished as quickly as she could and cleaned up the blood.

"Doctor," Hammond barked "get out of there, you're shaking."

"So is he."

"Get out of there, that's an order."

"Go, Doc," Jack encouraged "he's right, it's getting worse again."

Janet hated leaving Jack knowing that she had only done a patch work job on him. With little choice she gathered up her supplies and left. After a few breaths on the far side of the glass she started feeling a little bit better, but she knew it would take a shower to truly remove it. Suddenly an Airman knocked on the outer door and peeked inside.

"General, Sir, we need you down the hall."

"On my way."

"What's going on?" Jack asked as he sat up.

"Please, Sir," Janet asked "lay back and take it easy."

Jack did no such thing. In fact he forced himself into standing, keeping the pressure off his bad ankle. Janet was just about to ask him to take a shower and lay down when her train of thought was derailed. A piercing cry followed by a loud crashing sound echoed down the hall. The screaming repeated itself again, a sound of animalistic rage. With Jack's influence still effecting her heart raced at the sound.

"What the hell is that?!" Jack asked.

"It's...it's Daniel, Sir."

"Daniel? Wha...what are you doing to him?"

"He's very sick," Janet answered "so are you."

"I want to see him, I want to see him _now_."

"I'm sorry, Colonel, you have to stay in quarantine."

"I'm fine! Let me out of here!" Jack begged rather than demanded. "Daniel! Daniel! Wait...where's Carter? What are you doing to us?!"

"Please, Sir, take a shower, change your clothing. You'll feel better."

Jack glared at her distrustfully.

"Trust me, Sir." Janet forced a smile.

Jack just shook his head vacantly. Janet watched as he began to degrade into fearful psychosis. Hobbling away from her he sought out the far corner of the room and sank to the floor. Like a child afraid of a lightning storm he pulled the covers off the bed and pulled them over his head.

Knowing she had orders to follow Janet crossed the hall and stepped back into quarantine. After a quick shower she felt worlds better however she stayed in the separate room. After about ten minutes General Hammond came to visit her. He looked tired.

"How is Colonel O'Neill?" Hammond asked.

"Fearful."

"Expected. How about his shoulder?"

"Hard to say, depends on how good a job I did."

"Meaning?"

"Colonel O'Neill may no longer be lost in the forest, Sir, but he's certainly not out of the woods yet."

"None of us are, Doctor."


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

"Sir, please."

"I'm sorry, Doctor, I can't allow it."

"General, without this risk...they are going to die."

General Hammond looked into Janet's eyes and found that she truly believed her statement. Not about to back down an inch Janet continued to stare at the General, determined to get his approval. Hammond shook his head sadly which made Janet's heart beat a little faster. She could see that he was about to giver her the permission she was seeking.

"Minimal risk?"

"Absolutely." Janet agreed. "I think that Daniel..."

"No. Not Dr. Jackson, he's too unpredictable, too dangerous."

"He also seems to be the most effected and therefore would have the greatest chance of showing..."

"Not happening, Doctor." Hammond interpreted. "You can run your test, but only with Major Carter."

"Sir..."

"Dr. Jackson, and Colonel O'Neill are too likely to injure others if something goes wrong and they escape. Major Carer won't run away, she's the easiest to control. I shouldn't even be entertaining the idea of releasing her from quarantine, but if you're going to work with any of them it is going to be her."

"I understand, Sir. Thank you."

"When would you like to start?"

"Right now, everything is set up and waiting."

"Alright, I'll have all unnecessary personal move away from the infirmary level. Go get your patient, Doctor."

"Yes, Sir."

Janet hurried away before the General could change his mind. She knew it was risky to remove any of them from quarantine, but at the same time she had no chance of helping them from inside their glass cages. When she got to the lowest level Janet noticed that the hallway was unusually quiet. There were three Airmen standing guard, one at each of the doors.

Deciding to check in on the others before getting Sam she stepped up to the first door. When she stepped inside she found that the lights had all been turned off. She didn't turn them on, but she did keep the door open to let some light in.

It took Janet a moment to figure out where Jack was. Janet got down on her knees and peered under the bed. Hiding under the bed Jack was laying on his side, hugging his knees to his chest. Realizing he'd been spotted Jack curled up tighter as if that would keep him from harm.

"Colonel?"

Jack just weld his eyes shut and shook his head. He looked so much like a child who had been frightened by a thunderstorm. It broke Janet's heart to see the once courageous Colonel shivering with uncontrollable fright. Jack had started panting for breath so Janet tried to ease his fears by getting to her feet and backing away. She closed the door softly as she stepped out of the room.

"I take it he does better with the lights off?" Janet asked the Airman.

"I don't know about 'better', but it keeps him quiet."

"I'd call that better. Thank you, Airman."

Janet walked past the door that kept Sam separated from the rest of the Base. Janet was a little worried about Daniel being so quiet. When she opened the door she discovered why. The scene before her actually gave her some hope. Teal'c was sitting on the floor near the glass with his legs crossed in Lotus. Daniel was his unusual mirror image. After his last outburst Janet had recommended that he be restrained and he now wore a leather belt that had two straps that ran up to each of his wrists. He still had a great deal of freedom, but it kept him from throwing his fists into the glass.

Both men had their eyes closed and were putting their full concentration into breathing. Neither one of them had noticed Janet so she just spent a moment watching. Daniel was working hard, sweat dripped down his face from the effort he was putting into his meditation. His eyes were closed but emotion kept flickering across his face, a few times he curled his lip up over his teeth. Welding his eyes shut even harder Daniel started to whimper.

"You must concentrate, Daniel Jackson."

"I...I'm trying."

"You are doing well."

"How long has it been?"

"Thirty-seven minutes."

"That's all?" Daniel panted. "It...it's getting worse..."

"Concentrate on control."

"I can't." Daniel whispered as he started to ball his hands into fists.

"Daniel Jackson..."

"It hurts, it physically hurts to be this angry."

"Center yourself again."

"No!" Daniel barked harshly. "No, this is pointless!"

Janet's heart sank as Daniel's anger finally boiled over. Teal'c remained calm, however she could see his shoulders slump just a touch in defeat. Daniel looked past Teal'c and up at Janet standing in the doorway. His blue eyes narrowed in a frightening display of his violent emotional state.

"You." Daniel spat at Janet. "Why aren't you helping me?! Why aren't you fixing this?! You can't just lock me up!"

"Daniel, please trust me, I am trying to help you." Janet replied.

"Trust? Trust?! No one here deserves my trust." Daniel turned his icy stare to Teal'c. "He murdered my wife! As for you, Dr. Frasier, you're the reason I'm wearing these! Why should I trust any of you?!"

Daniel fought briefly with the cuffs around his wrists. When he couldn't free himself he just started screaming. Daniel reached up and took a firm hold his shirt collar before ripping the sturdy cloth open. Janet watched helplessly as Daniel began tearing his scrub top into pieces, he seemed satisfied to just be destroying something. Teal'c got to his feet and went to open one of the two glass doors that separated them from Daniel.

"Teal'c?" Janet asked. "What are you doing?"

"His anger does not effect me. I will escort him into the shower."

Janet was going to stop him however when she glanced over at Daniel she saw that he was doing everything in his power to chew through the leather around his wrists. She sighed knowing that she should have the restraints tightened so that he couldn't do that, but as long as he wasn't attacking the glass she wasn't going to remove anymore of his freedom.

When Teal'c stepped into the room Daniel instantly went for Teal'c's throat. The restraints did keep him from extending his arms so his attack was extremely clumsy. Teal'c had no trouble getting Daniel under control and backed him into the bathroom. Janet decided not to wait around, knowing that once Daniel was wet he'd be rational again.

Back in the hallway Janet hesitated outside Sam's room. She could already hear the soft weeping coming through the door. Shaking her head sadly Janet let herself in. Sam was sitting on the floor with her back pressed into the corner. With a pillow clutched to her chest Sam cried with a bitterness that made Janet's heart hurt.

"Sam?"

Sam snapped her head up at the sound of Janet's voice. Her whole face lit up, her tears instantly forgotten. Janet was hopeful for a moment that Sam could be helped simply by posting someone in the room to keep her company.

Sam however was not satisfied to simply have someone in view. Scrambling to her feet she ran towards her visitor. Janet didn't have enough time to warm Sam about the glass. Smacking into the clear barrier Sam was knocked back to the floor. Shaking her head Sam got back up and put her hands on the glass and started searching for a way out.

"Sam, please stop. Take a shower."

With just as much intensity in her eyes as Janet had just seen in Daniel's Sam continued to search for a weakness in the glass. When she found the door she began trying to force her fingers into the airtight seam. Even though she wasn't violent the way Daniel was, her persistence and single minded concentration was still frightening.

Taking a deep breath Janet tapped on the glass to get Sam's attention. It worked and Sam was instantly in front of her. Sam pressed her palm against the glass and Janet automatically put her own palm against it. Sam looked like she was trying to pull herself together, but she failed and broke down into tears once more.

Janet was hoping that she could talk Sam into taking a shower, but she could see now that Sam was far beyond comprehension. Nothing was going to tear her away from the glass as long as there was any chance that she could touch someone on the other side. When she started to pound on the glass and crying out in frustration Janet realized that having anyone in Sam's view was nothing short of cruel.

With little options Janet was forced to find Teal'c as ask him to force Sam under the shower spray. Sitting on his bed, his hair still damp, Daniel stared sightlessly at the floor. He didn't look up at Janet, but he did mutter a heart felt apology to her. Teal'c stepped out and gave Janet a shallow bow.

"Thank you for helping him, Teal'c. The meditation is a good idea."

"It only gains him six extra minutes before madness takes him."

"Teal'c," Daniel called "those are very important six minutes to me."

Teal'c smiled and gave Daniel a bow. Janet suddenly felt her own mood elevate to the point where she was practically forced to smile. She didn't know why such a simple exchange between the two friends should overcome the shadow that had fallen over the SGC, the situation was still dire, but she was smiling.

"Teal'c, could you help me with Sam?"

"Daniel Ja..."

"I'll be fine, Teal'c." Daniel interrupted. "Help Janet with Sam."

Teal'c nodded and followed Janet next door. Sam was on her knees with both her palms on the glass and her head bowed. The perfect picture of misery she cried quietly to herself. The mood elevation she had experienced before instantly vanished. Teal'c stood somberly at her side, waiting for instructions.

"I need her in the shower, Teal'c. She will throw herself at you as soon as you step inside."

"Understood."

Janet had been right the moment Teal'c opened the first door Sam was on her feet. Once inside Teal'c captured Sam's wrists, despite this she continued to try and kiss him. The single mindedness with which Sam conducted herself reminded Janet of zombie movies she'd seen in the past. When Teal'c did not allow her closer Sam gave out a keen cry of pain.

"Please!" Sam begged. "I love you!"

"Can you even recall my name, Major Carter?" Teal'c asked.

"Names don't matter, I love you...please."

It was sad to hear Sam use such powerful words and appear to mean them. Teal'c was unmoved by her proclamation and started to move her towards the bathroom. Sam was a lot more willing to follow physical order than Daniel. Teal'c returned quickly, he assured Janet that Sam was fine now and that he had left her to remove her wet clothing in privacy.

"Thank you, Teal'c." Janet said sincerely. "I don't suppose you could drag Colonel O'Neill out from under his bed for a rinse and then come to the infirmary?"

"I will."

Janet didn't have to wait long before Sam came out of the bathroom in a new pair of scrubs. She looked just as mortified as Daniel had after his own out burst. She stepped up to the glass and smiled at Janet sadly.

"Hey, Janet." Sam greeted meekly. "How are the others doing?"

"I wish I knew. It's hard to know how a patient is doing when you don't really even know what's wrong."

"Good point."

"But I am going to find out." Janet said firmly as she went to open the door.

"What are you doing?" Sam asked as she backed away.

"General Hammond has given me permission to do a functional MRI on you to at least give me a chance of figuring out what is going on since your blood work shows me next to nothing. We are working against time."

Sam nodded and when Janet opened the second door she hesitantly stepped out of quarantine. The hallways had been emptied and even the infirmary was running on empty. Janet knew how to run the MRI herself, but it was unnerving to have this entire mystery seemingly on her shoulders alone.

Sliding the bore of the MRI out Janet helped Sam up onto the small table. She turned her back for a moment to prepare the contrast dye needed for a better view. When Janet turned back around she found that Sam was looking at her with a sad smile on her face. Concerned Janet automatically stepped closer. Sam reached out and put her hand on Janet's shoulder.

"Janet, I just wanted to say 'thank you'."

"I haven't helped you yet."

"That's where you're wrong. You were there for me when I needed you most. I can accept what happened between us, I don't think I could do the same if I had ended up leaving this Base with any of the men stationed here or worse if I had ended up in the hands of a stranger. If I had to choose one person to be with at my most vulnerable, it would be you."

"That's what friends are for."

"Exactly, and with you I know we can still be friends."

"Absolutely."

Sam smiled and pulled Janet into a friendly hug. Janet returned the hug and chuckled. Although still feeling stressed about the daunting task ahead of her Janet felt a weight lifted from her. Balance had been restored between them as friends and now it was time to change that relationship once again, this time to that of sacred bond of doctor and patient.


	20. Chapter 20

NOTE from Phoenix: I am rushing for time (I have a job now! teaching kids to swim). So I didn't proof this, sorry for any mistakes, but I figured it was better than no story!

Chapter Twenty

"I understand. Yes. Yes, we are working on it. I understand that, but there is only so much I can do... Go ahead and call the National Guard, that's what they are for. Yes, I will keep you informed., please do the same."

Hammond hung up the phone and pinched the bridge of his nose hard. The city was still in a state of emergency, but now for a new reason. When there was a knock at his door he prayed that it was good news. Seeing how defeated Janet looked when she came inside let him know that good news was going to be in short supply.

"Are you okay, Doctor?"

"I'm fine."

"When was the last time you got some sleep?" Hammond asked.

"I don't really know, twenty-four...maybe thirty-six hours ago."

"You need rest."

"I need answers." Janet replied wearily.

"So do I." Hammond sighed.

"How is the water situation?"

"Critical. The people affected are mostly recovered, they don't spread the fear the way Colonel O'Neill does. However, the reservoir is still contaminated and the city's secondary reservoir was never meant for long term water needs, and this summer has been very dry. In short if we can't find a way to decontaminate the main reservoir the city may have to be evacuated."

"Evacuated?"

"There may be no other choice."

"What about the SGC?"

"We have our own supply from the old days when this used to be a safe house for the White House staff in case of nuclear war."

"Yes, but that's a recycling system and every time SG-1 takes a shower they create blackwater that we can't clean. As it is the quarantine holding tanks are starting to fill."

"Suggestions, Doctor?"

"I don't have any at the moment, I can't even really pinpoint what I'm dealing with."

"Did the MRI tell you anything?"

"Yes and no. I did a functional MRI to see if there is any unusual brain activity and there is a lot of that. The amygdala is practically overheating it is working so hard, whatever it is that SG-1 is producing it acts on the amygdala..."

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but you're talking to a layman here, Doctor."

"Of course, I'm sorry, Sir. The amygdala is part of the limbic system that regulates emotions and assists in solidifying memories that are associated with times of high stress. It Is a more primitive part of the brain. However it can not be responsible for this skin chemical that SG-1 produces. My best guess is that it is a pheromone of some sort, which is why it can contaminate water."

"It must be highly concentrated."

"Very." Janet agreed. "It clearly effects the person producing it, which it not exactly normal for a pheromone and I can't imagine what gland or combination of glands is creating it nor why."

"Do you have any thoughts as to why it doesn't affect Teal'c?"

"Not other than the simple fact that he's a Jaffa. I did discover that if Teal'c doesn't wash off after touching one of them that he can then spread it to others."

"So whatever we are dealing with is powerful."

"Very. It doesn't even need contact, it can go right into someone's senses as a vapor. The only thing that renders it inert is water, and even in that case if it is ingested or allowed to evaporate it is toxic once again."

"And every day SG-1 creates more and more of this blackwater."

"Yes, Sir. That's not the only problem. Dr. Jackson's life is in immediate danger and I don't think it will be long before Colonel O'Neill's condition becomes life threatening as well."

"You really think Dr. Jackson is going to beat himself to death?"

"No. However his blood pressure spikes radically each time he allows his aggression to win. It is getting progressively worse. If he doesn't have a stroke, his heart, lungs, and kidneys are going to fail under the strain. He could also go blind, but honestly that's the least of his problems."

"How long?"

"Impossible to say. He was in excellent health when this started and that plays in his favor. I would guess he can take two, maybe three weeks of this. However if he had a massive aneurysm in the next hour I wouldn't be surprised."

"You mentioned Colonel O'Neill also?"

"His physical condition is not as extreme, but it is similar. The fear is washing his system with adrenaline, which also raises his blood pressure and heart rate. It doesn't spike as high as Daniel, but Colonel O'Neill isn't...well..."

"As young as Daniel?"

"Exactly."

"What about Major Carter?"

"Physically she isn't affected the way the other two are. Suicide is her greatest threat. She hasn't made any attempts yet, but it's only a matter of time before she does. I've made the room as safe as I can."

"If Major Carter becomes determined to kill herself she'll find a way." Hammond said sadly.

"I'm afraid you're right."

"Do you have any suggestions for treatment?"

Janet nodded sadly, but didn't answer right away. Hammond allowed her a few moments to gather up her thoughts. Eventually Janet pulled her thoughts away from what was best for her friends and focused on what was best for the Base.

"General, if we can't solve this in the next three days I am going to be forced to suggest that all three are placed in an induced coma. Medically comatose we'd have better control over their physical reactions to this agent. It would also keep them from suffering and reduce the need for creating more blackwater."

"However..." Hammond asked knowing she hadn't told him everything.

"However they also might not be allowed to live out what could very well be the last days of their lives." Janet admired. "Right now they can enjoy on average thirty minutes of lucid thought and freedom from their emotions each time they get wet. If I place them in comas there is a very high chance that they will never come out of it. I don't know if I can bare the responsibility of making the decision to basically take their lives and SG-1 is in no position to make that position for themselves because they will feel an overwhelming need to do what they feel is best for the SGC, not themselves."

"If that decision has to be made, I will make it." Hammond assured. "Dr. Bri..."

"No." Janet said quickly. "If SG-1 must be placed in chemical restraints, I will do it."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

"Yes, Sir."

"Dismissed, Doctor. Go get some rest."

"Yes, Sir."

Janet left Hammond's office, but she had no intention of seeking out a place to lay down. Returning to the deepest level of the SGC she pulled her shoulders back and tried to put on a confident face for her patients. Since Daniel was in the greatest danger physically she decided to check on him first.

Teal'c was not in the room, which was unusual. The large Jaffa had taken to sleeping on the floor in Daniel's room. Janet assumed he was visiting or helping one of the others. Daniel was sitting on the floor, meditating as best he could. Janet had not come here to disturb him and silently went over to the monitor to see what Daniel's body had been doing over the past two hours.

The transmitter stuck to Daniel's chest had charted the course of his anger. The monitor showed a dramatic spike about fifteen minutes ago. Janet read the measurements a few times to make sure she was reading it right. Realizing that it probably wasn't a mistake she swore under her breath.

"Your bedside manner is slipping, Janet." Daniel chuckled.

Janet tore her eyes away from the monitor with a guilty look on her face. Daniel had gotten to his feet and was leaning casually against the wall. Janet forced a smile and Daniel did the same. Before turning away Janet tapped on the monitor so that the screen would go blank again, she didn't want Daniel having to see his dismal readings.

"How bad is it?" Daniel asked.

"It certainly isn't good."

"How are Sam and Jack doing?"

"Don't worry about them." Janet said softly.

"That bad, eh?"

"Yeah." Janet admitted. "I'm so sorry, Daniel, I simply don't know what to do."

"If anyone can help us, it's you. I'm not worried."

"I wish I had your confidence. You seem cal..."

Janet stopped as the monitor behind her started beeping. She instantly turned to see what it wanted. Tapping the screen to get it to show again she read it and then turned sharply to look at Daniel. He smiled sadly and rubbed his chest over his heart.

"Daniel?"

"I'm alright."

"What's going on?"

"I'm learning to turn the anger in on myself."

"What?"

"I can't do it for very long, but it buys me a good ten minutes."

"You need to stop that, it's forcing your blood pressure up even higher than when you were lashing out. It's killing you."

"At least I'll die sane."

Janet's eyes brightened with tears at the hopelessness in Daniel's voice. He tried to flash her another reassuring smile, but he was starting to lose his focus. The restraints didn't keep him from reaching his chest and he was rubbing harder at his heart with every passing beat.

"Daniel, your heart hurts because your blood pressure is forcing fluid into your lungs. You can't bottle up this rage, it makes it worse. If you don't want to display it then go take a shower."

"I just took o..."

"Take another, and then try to sleep. I know you have nightmares, but at least your blood pressure stabilizes when you're asleep."

"Okay, but only if you promise to get some sleep as well."

"I'm fine."

"You look ready to pass out, Janet."

"I'm going to check on the others and then I'll get some sleep."

Daniel nodded and walked back towards the shower. When he turned around she could suddenly see an odd set of bruises down the back of his forearms. Before he disappeared she was able to make out that they were u-shaped bite marks. He must have been bitting down hard on his own flesh to redirect his anger before. She knew he'd chosen the underside of his arm so that the marks wouldn't be immediately noticeable.

"He's going to tear himself apart long before his organs fail." Janet sighed.

Feeling less hopeful than she could ever remember Janet left the room. Her intention was to visit Sam next however before she could get there she heard Jack calling out for help.

"Doc! Doc!"

Jack's voice didn't hold the edge of fear to it that it had in recent days. It sounded more like a prisoner barking a demand for release. Janet hurried down the hall and stepped into his room. Jack was on his feet, but didn't look like he'd be able to stay there long. He had one arm against the glass up over his head so that he could lean against the barrier for support. When Janet saw that he was soaking wet she understood why he wasn't hiding under the bed.

"Doc!" Jack called out again.

"Yes, Colonel? I'm right here."

Janet was concerned by the way Jack looked up at her. His eyes were not quite focused and he looked like he was trying to recall why he'd called her into the room. Swallowing hard he just stared at her. She noticed that once again he had torn off the transmitter that monitored his vital signs. During his attacks of terror he was always convinced that the patch over his heart was causing it.

"Colonel?"

"I'm not...I'm not feeling so good." Jack said in a near whisper.

"I know, Sir, we're working on it."

"No, not that, I..." Jack trailed off and didn't continue.

"Colonel? Did you just get out of the shower?"

"No." Jack shook his head weakly. "It's sweat...I'm having trouble thinking."

"Are you afraid?"

"No."

"How's your shoulder?"

"It hurts like hell." Jack winched just talking about it.

"Can I see it?"

Jack struggled to get his scrub shirt off. Once he did he clawed at the large waterproof bandage over his inured shoulder. As soon as he revealed a small portion of the wound Janet gasped sharply. She had been unable to check on the injury as often as she'd like due to the quarantine Over the past few hours the infection had gotten out of hand. A clear yellow fluid mixed with blood seeped out of the angry bullet holes.

"I didn't get all the birdshot out." Janet lamented. "I'm sorry, Sir."

"Not a problem...now what?"

"I need to get back in there and find them."

"Sounds good." Jack tried to shrug, but ended up growling in pain.

"Sir, when was the last time you showered?"

"I don't really know, a few hours at least."

"And you have no fear?"

"Nope, just pain."

"Alright, I need to get a few things and Teal'c to help me out."

"I...uh...I'll sta..."

Before Jack could finish his sentence he passed out and collapsed to the floor.

"Teal'c!" Janet cried. "Help!"

Teal'c was in the room in moments affirming Janet's suspicions that he had been with Sam. The instant he saw Jack on the floor he went into the quarantine area. Reaching down he pressed his hand against Jack's throat.

"His pulse is strong, Dr. Frasier, however his skin is extremely hot to the touch."

"Fever from the infection. Run him under cold water while I get my instruments."

Teal'c nodded and lifted Jack up like a rag doll. Janet rushed into the infirmary and grabbed the emergency kit and a vial of strong antibiotics. She heard one of the nurses ask her what was going on, but she ordered them to all stay put. Janet had every intention of breaking quarantine and she didn't want anyone trying to stop her.

When she got back to the room Teal'c had Jack laying on the bed. Janet looked at the stitches she had placed in him before and realized that she was going to have to cut all of them open and make sure there was no more birdshot in them. Without an X-ray she was working blind, but that was how it had to be. She quietly locked the door behind her to reduce the risk that the guard wouldn't come in and see that she was in the quarantine area.

"Teal'c, I need your help."

"I am here for whatever you need."

"This is going to take at least an hour. I need you to watch me and make sure that I don't become too frightened. If I start to tremble haul me into the shower."

"You are not allowed to enter."

"I know, I'm going to go against orders. If I don't Colonel O'Neill is going to die."

"Very well, I will watch over you."

"Thank you, Teal'c."

Janet looked around one last time before stepping through the airlock. She had expected some fear to hit her just from the air in the room, but she felt none. Picking up the discarded transmitter Janet reattached it to Jack's chest to get some vitals. It took a moment but soon the monitor was activated and beeping urgently.

"Oh no." Janet said.

"Dr. Frasier?" Teal'c asked.

"The Colonel has a dangerously high fever, almost one o four."

"Will he recover?"

"I don't know."

Janet opened up the emergency kit and drew several syringes to help with the fever and infection. She also injected a local anesthetic in case Jack woke while she was working on him. About halfway through the procedure Jack did wake. At first he struggled against them, but as soon as he realized who was holding him down he calmed instantly.

"Doc...what are you doing in here?" Jack asked weakly.

"My job."

"That sounds...plausible."

"Sir, how's your fear?"

"None...I'm in good hands."

Janet smiled. She continued to work at the infection and gore in Jack's shoulder. She pulled out three more tiny birdshot pellets by the time she was done. The patch job had taken an hour an a half, but at no point did she fall victim to the fear that normally radiated off Jack's skin. When she was done she dressed the wound. His fever was already breaking so she was confident this time that she got it all.

"Doc..." Jack muttered. "The General is going to have you drawn and quartered for this."

"I doubt that, Sir." Janet assured him.

Although she felt no fear herself Janet went into the bathroom for a shower. Her clothing and all the medical supplies she had used would have to be burned, they had contaminated blood all over them. There was going to be no avoiding getting caught, but she didn't care. Once out of the shower she changed into a pair of the scrubs left for Jack.

Ten minutes later Janet found herself in General Hammond's office getting a stern 'talking to'. She had expected it, but it was still difficult to have the General angry with her. She let him say his peace without interruption. Eventually Hammond calmed down and stared at Janet. She relaxed when she saw a hint of smile on his face.

"So...how is he?" Hammond asked.

"I got the rest of the shot and filled him with antibiotics, his fever had broken even before I finished. There was something odd...he had no fear."

"You mentioned that, and you yourself had none?"

"None, Sir."

"Do you think he's somehow cur..." Before Hammond could finish the phone rang. "Hammond. ...I see. How is his fever? Thank you."

"Sir?" Janet asked as he hung up the phone.

"Colonel O'Neill is back under his bed."

"He is?"

"Yup." Hammond sighed. "However his fever is under control."

"The fever...I bet that was it."

"Doctor?"

"Sir, I think Colonel O'Neill's fever was denaturing the structure of the pheromone. I am willing to bet that's why he and I wasn't fearful. Now that the fever is gone, the fear is back."

"So we just need to keep them warm?"

"No, no we can't do that. The human body can't handle having its core temperature raised like that for any extended period of time."

"So how does this help SG-1?"

"It doesn't...but it could save the city."

"Of course, heat the reservoir." Hammond beamed. "I'll get right on it."

"Sir, I need to get back to SG..."

"No. You need rest."

"Si..."

"Seven hours sleep, Doctor."

"But, Sir..."

"You can't help them if you work yourself to death in the process. Rest, that's an order."

"Yes, Sir."


	21. Chapter 21

NOTE from Phoenix: Once AGAIN I am rushing for time. So I didn't proof this, sorry for any mistakes, but I figured it was better than no story!

Chapter Twenty-one

Janet woke with a violent start. She looked up at the clock in the VIP room and swore. She had planed on sleeping no more than six hours, however her body had demanded a full nine hours. Getting out of bed she only had to slip on her white lab coat since she'd crawled into bed otherwise fully dressed.

Without even checking in with the infirmary Janet made her way down to the lower level. Halfway to the elevator she had a thought and turned around. Stepping into the infirmary she gave the place a quick glance to make sure everything was in order. Satisfied she went into the supply closet and pulled out an unusual object before heading back to the elevator with her prize.

Janet went directly to Sam this time. She felt a little guilty for not spending as much time with Sam as the others. It was entirely due to the fact that Sam's body wasn't physically failing her like Daniel and Jack's were, however, emotionally she was in as much stress as the others.

"Damn it, Jim, I'm a doctor not a psychiatrist." Janet muttered to herself.

Stepping into Sam's room she was no where to be seen. Hearing the shower Janet put down the odd object she'd hauled down from the infirmary. Tapping on the monitor she forced it to spring to attention. As she read the vital signs her heart suddenly became heavy. Sam's heart rate and blood pressure was starting to slide. At one point during the night Sam's heart rate was down to barely forty beats per minute.

"Is your heart so broken that its just going to shudder to a stop?"

"Janet?"

Janet turned off the monitor screen and turned around. Sam still had a towel in hand and was using it to dry her short hair. Janet flashed Sam what she hoped was a reassuring smile. Sam forced a smile back at her, but they both realized they weren't fooling one another. Attempting to change the subject Sam motioned towards the large teddy bear that Janet had brought down from the infirmary.

"What's that?"

"It's one of the bears that I put in t the infirmary supplies in case any frightened children came through the Gate." Janet explained. "I thought it might help you."

"Under normal circumstances I'd say 'no', but in this case I think 'thank you' is more in order."

"I wish I could do more. Something real."

"Hey, it's not every doctor who would think to bring their grown patient a teddy bear." Sam chuckled.

"True."

Janet picked up the fuzzy bear and placed it inside the first door. Sam could only open the second door when Janet placed a code in the outer door. Sam lifted up the stuffed animal with great care and gave it a hug.

"Thank you, Janet, it does make me feel better."

"But you just got out of the shower."

"It still helps."

"Good." Janet smiled.

"So...how are Daniel and Colonel O'Neill?"

"Colonel O'Neill has fought through the worse of his infection, all the bird shot is out now. Daniel, well, he's basically one part piss, and two parts vinegar."

"That doesn't sound like Daniel at all." Sam chuckled.

"No, no it isn't."

"I hear him sometimes, spitting curses in different languages. It would almost be funny if it wasn't so serious."

"It is interesting that he falls out of using English when he really gets going."

"I think it just proves that Daniel's still in there, part of him knows he can't offend anyone if they don't understand what he's saying."

"That could be." Janet nodded. "Sam, I've been going through your last mission report trying to figure out if it has anything to do with what is happening to all of you."

"Find anything?"

"The only thing that seem out of place is how vague and brief everyone's reports are. You usually write a medium sized novel, and Daniel's reports are normally too daunting to even physically lift let alone read."

"I take it we weren't so detailed this time?"

"You don't remember?"

"That was a month ago, Janet. I'm a little fuzzy on the details."

Janet furrowed her brow and stared at Sam for a moment. At first she thought Sam might be attempting to lighten the mood with a little humor. However there was nothing but honesty in her eyes.

"Sam, let's sit down and talk about your last mission."

"Alright."

Sam sat down in front of the glass with the teddy bear in her lap. Janet knelt down and sat back on her heels after kicking off her shoes, all of the time she'd been spending on her feet lately was getting to her. Sam recalled their arrival to Bangkok without trouble. After she got to the part about being drugged she suddenly stopped and chuckled. Janet waited for an explanation, but Sam was lost in her own thoughts.

"Sam?"

"Sorry, I was just remembering." Sam smiled. "The Goa'uld there, she liked Daniel's eyes...she wanted them."

"What?"

"He does have nice eyes." Sam said as she started to lose her focus. She looked up at Janet. "So do you..."

"Sam, please focus. What did the Goa'uld want with Daniel's eyes?"

"She wanted a population of blue-eyed slaves, she had it in her mind that Daniel could provide it."

"I see...did this plan include you as the mother?"

"I think so." Sam furrowed her brow as she tried to recall. "I remember them coming to see what colour eyes I have."

"Did the Goa'uld do anything to you to make you more...uh...receptive to the idea of being bred?"

"No, I don't think so. Wait, you think that may be why I keep falling in love? To get Daniel and I together?"

"Just a thought." Janet replied.

"It make some sense, but she really never got a chance to touch me."

"And of course it doesn't make much sense to make Daniel violent, he's at the point where he'd kill anyone he got his hands on."

"He's not exactly in a 'mating mood' is he?"

"Not in the slightest." Janet said ruefully.

"Still, it does make sense that whatever is happening to us started in Bangkok."

"What happened just before the fire?"

"What fire?"

Janet felt a chill go down the back of her neck. SG-1 had been in such critical condition and they had been working so hard to reverse the effects on the city that no one had had a chance to talk about their last mission. Since it had been over a month ago it wasn't immediately thought to have been the cause. However now it was clear that at least Sam had some severe memory gaps.

"Major, there was a massive fire in the Goa'uld's palace. You had to be rescued from the mission by another SG team."

"I vaguely recall the heat, but I was blind at the time."

"Blind? Oh wait, yes, now I remember, you were still suffering from that flash."

"There was this cabinet full of little glass vials of coloured liquid." Sam said suddenly. "The Colonel and Daniel broke it."

"What was in the vials?"

"I don't know. Daniel may knows more..."

Sam hugged the teddy bear tighter to her chest with one arm. She put her free hand up on the glass as tears started running down her face. A look of anger flashed over Sam's features and she brushed away the tears.

"I'm sorry, Janet. It's happening again..."

"I wish I could help you."

"Just let me out of here...I just need to touch your skin and I'll be fine."

"Sam, this isn't you talking anymore." Janet sighed as she got to her feet.

"No!" Sam cried as she lept to her feet. "No! Don't leave me! Please, please don't leave me alone!"

Sam staggered back and was forced to sit down on the floor before she fell down. Clutching the stuffed animal to her chest Sam began weeping bitterly. Janet reached over and tapped on the monitor. Just as she had suspected Sam's blood pressure had fallen again, when she had jumped to her feet she had come close to passing out from the lack of blood flow.

"Why are you doing this me?" Sam whimpered. "Please, let me go...if you can't love me let me go, let me find someone who can."

"I'm sorry, Major, you'll endanger the entire Base as well as yourself."

Janet had hoped that the truth would comfort her friend. Sam was not one to risk the welfare of the SGC over her own needs. However Sam was no longer thinking rationally and the statement only seemed to hurt her feelings. Sam buried her face in the teddy bear and sobbed.

"Sam..."

"You can't come into my command and start barking orders!" The General's voice roared from out in the hallway.

"Please, General, don't be difficult."

Janet's blood ran cold at the tone in Hammond's voice. It was one of frustrated helplessness, something she wasn't used to hearing. Turning away from Sam she opened the door. The hallway was congested by several armed soldier, four men in full haz-mat, the General, and a man in a well cut business suit.

Janet stepped into the crowd and made her way towards the General. Her small size allowed her to slip in between the armed men easily. No one made a move to stop her. Hammond was flushed he was so angry. The stranger in the suit remained calm, a cold determination in his eyes. The intruder went to open the door to Daniel's room but Hammond was quick as a snake and punched a code into the door that locked it.

"Open the door, General." The man sighed.

"I won't allow this." Hammond growled.

"To refuse is grounds for court martial. This is above you, General, we have every right to do this."

"The hell you do! Dr. Jackson is not military, you have no jurisdiction over him! He is an American citizen and therefore is protected under all her rights."

"The funny thing is, General, he's actually not a citizen."

"What?"

"It would appear that a few years ago Dr. Jackson applied to expatriate to Egypt, therefore giving up his rights as a US citizen."

"That's a lie, I've been through his file a hundred times, there is no mention of him as an Egyptian citizen."

"No, there wouldn't be. He never completed the paperwork, the Stargate program distracted him. However..." The man held out his hand and one of the men put a folder in it which he opened and handed to the General. "we pulled a few strings and got it finalized."

"This is insane, this isn't legal."

"It has Dr. Jackson's own signature on it."

"This was years ago!"

"No, matter, it's done. Dr. Jackson is Egyptian and after what happened to the city of Colorado Springs he's the prime suspect in a terrorist action."

"Don't be absurd!" Hammond snapped. "First of all Dr. Jackson had nothing to do with that, and secondly all this goddamned rationalization and red tape doesn't even begin to hide what is really go on here!"

"Nothing is going on here, General, we are well within the law and our rights."

"No."

"General..."

"I am not opening that door."

Janet didn't dare interrupt the argument and just watched with her breath held. The intruder didn't show any signs of agitation. He simply pulled out his cell phone and dialed it. He said a few words about the situation into the phone and then handed it to Hammond. At first Hammond didn't take the phone, he just started down the man.

"I suggest you take this call, General."

"General Hammond here." Hammond growled into the phone and then suddenly straightened his posture. "Yes, Sir. Sorry, Sir. ...I understand that, but... Yes, Sir. Understood, Mr. President."

Janet's heart caught in her throat as she realized that the General had been outplayed. Hammond closed the phone and handed it back with a spiteful glare. Looking more furious than defeated he reached out and punched in the code that unlocked the door.

Teal'c knew something was wrong was was directly on the far side of the door. Filling up the doorway Teal'c made it clear that he wasn't going to be easily moved. The man in the suit stepped up to Teal'c without fear and offered his hand to him.

"You must be the Jaffa, Teal'c."

"Indeed." Teal'c growled without taking the offer to shake hands.

"I hear that you can safely handle Dr. Jackson, I need you to take him into the shower and bring him out here."

Teal'c glanced up at Hammond and when the General made no motion for Teal'c to cooperate the large Jaffa simply crossed his arms over his chest. For the first time the new comer showed some uneasiness. He turned to the General.

"General, you will tell your man to follow my orders, that is an order."

"Teal'c," Hammond said with no emotion in his voice "you will follow General Ricter's orders, that's an order."

"General Hammond I hereby offer you my resignation from the Stargate Program." Teal'c replied instantly.

"Accepted." Hammond nodded and turned to Ricter. "I'm sorry, Sir, I no longer have authority over Teal'c's actions."

"General Hammond, you are walking the very fine line of treason. You have been given a direct order from the President of the United States to comply."

"I am not standing in your way."

"Fine, you want my men to go in there and drag Jackson out here kicking and screaming, that works just as well for me. I was attempting to make this transition easier on him by allowing one of your men to escort him. However, if you insist..."

Ricter motioned towards several of his men who seemed to instantly understand their orders. One of the soldier's handed one of the men in haz-mat a long handled tazer. The man stepped up to Teal'c, clearly expecting the Jaffa to give way. Teal'c inflated his chest further and glared at the man hard enough to make him take a step back.

"Teal'c?" Daniel called from inside the room. "General? What's going on out there?"

"General," Ricter said calmly "if your man does not move out of the way we will use force, furthermore we will use force on Dr. Jackson. I can't guarantee that no one will be hurt in the process. There is no sense in putting anyone at unnecessary risk here."

"Risk?" Daniel repeated. "What the hell is happening?! Talk to me!"

"Sounds like he's getting angrier, General, every second you wait the greater chance that we'll have a real fight on our hands. One way or another we will have him."

Janet wanted to burst in and start making some demands of her own, but she knew that if General Hammond didn't have enough weight to push this guy around she'd have no chance at all. Hammond noticed that Janet was watching him and shook his head sadly.

"Teal'c," Hammond sighed.

"I will not capture Daniel Jackson for these men."

"I'm not asking you to, however, please move aside."

Teal'c gave the order a full minute's thought before nodding slowly and stepping out into the hall. Ricter didn't smile in triumph, in fact his cold expression hadn't changed since his arrival. The man in the haz-mat gear with the tazer went to step past Teal'c. Janet debated with herself for half a second before speaking out.

"Wait." Janet said as she stepped closer to Ricter. "You can't use a tazer on him while he's in this state. You'll kill him."

"Do you have another suggestion, Doctor?" Ricter asked.

"Give me another twenty-four hours to figure this out, I just need a little more ti..."

"Doctor, you misunderstand."

"They don't want him cured, Dr. Frasier." Hammond said sadly.

Before Janet could reply she was pulled out of the way. By this time Daniel was in a pure animal fury. When the men invaded his space he cried out with a blood cuddling scream of rage. He was so mindless with his anger that it didn't take long for the skilled men to get him under their control. The restraints he still wore further prevented him from fighting back.

Janet stood next to the General while they waited. Daniel was snarling and spitting at them, using a host of curses that didn't require direct translation to understand their meaning. After hearing the shower run for a few minutes the two men came out into the hall with Daniel in their custody. Looking confused Daniel instantly looked to General Hammond.

"General, what is hap..."

Daniel was cut off as one of the men pressed a needle gun into his throat. Whatever they injected him with worked fast. Daniel's eyes rolled back to white and he passed out. The solider who had injected him dropped the gun and caught Daniel as he fell.

"Move it," Ricter ordered "we have fifteen minutes to get him into quarantine."

"Yes, Sir."

The man hoisted Daniel into his arms like a maiden in distress being rescued from a dragon. With an escort of several of the men they hastily made their way to the elevator. Ricter stayed behind for a moment.

"I truly am sorry for your loss, General, but this is for the greater goo..."

"Get off my Base." Hammond growled darkly.

"Yes, Sir."

Ricter gave Hammond a respectful nod and left, the rest of his men followed him. Janet glanced up at Hammond and saw that he was grinding his teeth together almost hard enough to break them. He looked as ready to kill as Daniel had in the mists of his madness. Teal'c didn't show any signs of his anger on his face, but Janet could feel that his every muscle was snapped tight.

"Is that all we can do, Sir?" Janet asked softly. "Just stand by while the NID takes Daniel?"

"That wasn't the NID, Doctor."

"Who was it?"

"Army research."


	22. Chapter 22

NOTE: I should be working....oh well.

Chapter Twenty-two

Daniel had no idea where his sleeping nightmares ended and his waking sense's blind battle with rage began. Finding himself unrestrained Daniel struck at an all too familiar clear barrier in front of him. The pain that lanced up his arm from the unproductive violence barely even registered in his heated mind. Turning from the barrier he sought something else to take out his unbearable aggression on.

The environment was completely sterile, nothing more than a ten diameter circle surrounded by the floor to celling glass. The floor appeared to be a metal grate so Daniel dropped to his knees and laced his fingers into mesh. Growling with frustration he yanked at the unmovable grate with nearly enough force to dislocate his own shoulders.

When a motion caught the corner of Daniel's eye he abandoned his assault on the grate. Launching himself towards the movement he slammed into the glass. Knocked backwards Daniel was forced to lay on his back for a moment while his consciousness slipped in and out of focus. Sitting up Daniel shook his head and screamed because there seemed to be nothing else he could do.

A shockingly cold heavy rain suddenly extinguished the fire that was threatening to drive Daniel to full madness. Gasping violently Daniel reared back to try and escape the cold wash, but he only succeeded in driving his back into glass. Taking a deep breath Daniel looked up at the celling where water from the sprinkler system still dripped.

Free from the rage that clouded his thoughts Daniel started to truly take in his surroundings. Beyond the glass was a darkened room that held a host of computer equipment that was blinking and scrolling text. Daniel searched for anything that looked even vaguely familiar, but this wasn't a place he'd seen before.

Slowly stepping away from the glass that he had his back to he made the short trip to the middle of the circular prison. Looking up Daniel didn't see anything that looked like it could be a way out. The glass was seamless and the grated floor looked more like a drain than anything else. Furrowing his brow Daniel's mind raced as he tried to understand.

"The glass itself slides up, Dr. Jackson."

The voice had come from everywhere at once, but Daniel turned around and discovered its original source. A confident man in a white lab coat was standing just on the far side of the glass. His mouth forced a smile, but his dark eyes remained cold. Daniel instinctively took a step away from the stranger.

"How are you feeling, Dr. Jackson?" Ricter asked.

"Uh...a little confused." Daniel admitted.

"That is understandable." Ricter forced another false smile. "I assure you that you are safe."

"I don't feel particular safe. What is going on?"

"You've been transferred to a new facility."

"W...why?"

"It became clear that the SGC did not have the necessary security to care for you. You attacked two people there."

"I did?" Daniel asked. "I don't remember."

"You were little more than an animal with rage at the time." Ricter stepped closer to the glass. "I have been fully updated on your unusual condition. Don't worry, you'll get the best of care here."

"Where is 'here'?"

"That's not important, Dr. Jackson."

"You know my name...who are you?"

"You can call me 'Doctor'."

"No." Daniel took a step back and bumped into the glass. "No, I want my doctor, Dr. Janet Frasier."

"She can not help you."

"I don't care. I want to go back to the SGC."

"You will surely die there."

"At least I'll die among friends."

"Dr. Jackson, please, you're being unreasonable."

"Unreasonable?!" Daniel snapped. "I'm being held captive godknowswhere in a glass box surrounded by people I don't know and have no reason to trust with absolutely no explanation!"

"You seem to be getting angry." Ricter pointed out needlessly.

"Angry? I'm furious!"

"Your condition is worsening, you get rilled much faster than before."

Daniel narrowed his eyes and stalked over to Ricter. Fearless the man just watched him passively. Pressing his palms against the glass Daniel poured all of his mounting hate into a searing glare. He could feel his heartbeat starting to pound, but he didn't do anything to try and calm it.

"I demand to know who you are and what is happening to me." Daniel snarled.

"I am your new doctor and no one knows what is happening to you." Ricter answered sincerely. "Please, I can not help you if you are going to fight us even when your sane. Now, I'd like to take you out of there for a few tests."

"No one touches me!" Daniel hissed. "I want to see my doctor, now!"

Ricter turned to a near by console and tapped on it. Daniel cried out as another cold rain showered down on him. This time he was left shivering for warmth as his already cold wet scrubs stuck to his skin. Crossing his arms over his chest he stared at his captor.

"I'm still angry." Daniel stated icily.

"No, you're frightened and I understand."

"Of course I am, I've been abducted."

"Would you trust me if I allowed you to speak to General Hammond?"

"Is he here?"

"No, but I can call him for you."

"And you expect me to trust a relayed message?"

"Not at all, I can put it on the speaker." Ricter assured.

"Fine, do it."

Ricter nodded and pushed a number into the black phone on the console, keeping it on speaker even as he dialed in. Daniel wished he knew the musical combination to Hammond's phone number, but he always just used the address book in his cell phone. Daniel listened to the phone ringing, watching Ricter's every motion in hopes of gleaning some sort of information. The man was completely unreadable, he showed no frustration, empathy or any hints about his inner thoughts.

"General Hammond." A familiar voice answered.

"General, this is Dr. Ricter."

"How is Dr. Jackson doing?"

"He is lucid. He wishes to speak to you." Ricter motioned to Daniel to let him know he could just speak.

"General?"

"Yes."

"What is going on?"

"I'm sorry, Dr. Jackson, the SGC was no longer able to contain you. I would have told you about the transfer myself, however there was no time. Once we got you under chemical restraints you had to be moved quickly."

"I see." Daniel replied untrusting still. "Could you come and see me?"

"I'm sorry I would, but my hands are full here, I simply can't leave. I am sure all of this must be frightening, but please trust these men."

"Not that I doubt your word, Sir, but I would like it if Janet could visit me. If I could just see a friendly face I'd know I was safe."

"Dr. Jackson...don't you remember?"

"Remember what?" Daniel asked nervously.

"You attacked Dr. Frasier when she was trying to help you. She was in critical condition until this morning."

"Janet..."

"I'm sorry, Daniel...Janet passed away this morning."

"No. I...I don't remember. No..." Daniel stuttered in horror. "No, I...I couldn't have, I would never..."

"It's okay, Dr. Jackson, no one blames you. You are very ill. Now I want you to trust your new medical staff. I want to see you back here and healthy. You're in the best hands possible. Do you understand?"

"Y...yes, Sir."

"I am sorry, Daniel."

Numb from the shock Daniel just nodded slowly. There was a slight noise of the line being disconnected and then a deafening silence fell over him, broken only by the occasional dripping from the celling. For a full minute Daniel just stared sightlessly at the floor.

Daniel still had no memory of slaughtering his friend but his nightmares had been full of blood, he decided that it could be possible that one of them was real. Pitching forward Daniel ended up on his knees with his arms wrapped over his stomach as he violently wretched on the grated floor. Once he was reduced to dry heaving he rocked back to press himself against the glass. Hugging his knees to his chest he looked blankly forward while tears traced down his face.

"I am sorry about your friend, Dr. Jackson." Ricter said quietly. "The testing can wait till tomorrow. If you'd like we can move you into sleeping quart..."

"No." Daniel whispered vacantly. "Just...just leave me alone."

"As you wish."

Ricter watched Daniel with clinical interest. Lost in his own thoughts Daniel didn't notice the look he was getting. Hiding his face in his crossed arms and broke down into true tears. Ricter listened to the bitter weeping, but offered no more words of consolation. When the door behind Ricter opened he reached over and tapped the screen to turn off the microphone that allowed Daniel to hear conversations. The new comer stepped up to Ricter and after glancing at Daniel he gave Ricter a disapproving look.

"What?" Ricter demanded.

"Can he hear us?"

"No."

"Was all of that necessary?" The new comer demanded.

"I think so."

"Why? Why are you going through so much to gain his trust? We don't need his cooperation. There is no sense in all this complications with smoke and mirrors, we can just force him into whatever we need."

"True, however, I don't want his own true anger tainting him."

"And what if he finds out the truth?"

"Then we'll resort to the force that you seem to be so fond of, his own anger probably don't really matter. I just thought this might be better and easier."

"If you ask me the torture you're putting him through with your lies is far worse than any amount of force."

"I didn't ask you, did I?" Ricter growled dangerous.

"No, Sir."

"That's better. Watch your step or I'll throw you in there with him and we'll see if Dr. Jackson really is mad enough to tear someone apart. Understand?"

"Y...yes, Sir."


	23. Chapter 23

NOTE: Don't expect me to keep up this pace...this story is just under my skin at the moment and I can't sleep. Ah...Bi-polar disorder you do have your advantages...

Chapter Twenty-three

Hammond sat at his desk staring at his phone with a sickening feeling in pit of his stomach. He swallowed hard and attempted to calm the icy prickle of anxiety that was creeping over his skin. Turning to the paperwork before him he combed through it again, however, it wasn't necessary he had it memorized.

"You've been tricked, George." Hammond muttered to himself. "I don't know how, but they've pulled the wool right over your eyes."

Turning back to his computer he typed in the information he was looking for again. No matter how many times he entered it in the database showed him the same thing over and over again.

Nothing.

That's what it showed him: absolutely nothing. The problem is that the day before it had pulled up 'General Ricter's' full file. Every detail of a life of service had been there, every t had been crossed every i had been dotted. General Hammond had not just handed Daniel over without checking and rechecking the man's identity. Today, it was all gone. As far as the US Armed forces was concerned General Ricter did not, and had never existed.

"Call him, George, call him and ask." Hammond demanded of himself. "Call, it's the least you can do."

After rechecking his facts one last time Hammond picked up the red phone on his desk. It was an automatic dial, to be used only in emergencies. Hammond had decided hours ago that this was an emergency, but that didn't make it any easier to confront the most powerful man in the world.

"Hayes."

"Mr. President..."

"George," Hayes greeted warmly "I just got the report that the Colorado Springs reservoir has been decontaminated, congratulate Dr. Frasier for me for that bit of quick thinking. The media seems to be buying the 'natural causes' cover story. I am sorry I didn't contact you personally earlier, I actually have just been brought up to speed on what is happening. How are the rest of your team, any progress?"

"I was hoping you could tell me."

"What?"

"May I speak freely, Sir?"

"What's wrong?"

"I have to know what has become of Dr. Jackson."

"He's not secured in quarantine? I thought..."

"It wasn't you, was it?" Hammond asked in horror.

"George, are you losing your mind as well?" Hayes asked seriously. "What are you talking about?"

"Yesterday at 1600 a man calling himself 'General Ricter' came here with full identification, the highest of security codes, spotless paperwork, an armed escort of a dozen solider, and direct orders to take Dr. Daniel Jackson into Army custody."

"I gave no such order."

"Sir..."

"General," the President interrupted "you do realize that you are half a breath away with accusing me of a war crime? I assume you believe Dr. Jackson is being used to create a bioweapon? Do you have _**any**_ idea the shitstorm that would result from something like that?"

"I do, which is why I was so surprised to hear the order directly from your mouth. Or at least I thought I had."

"Me? Face to face?"

"No, Sir, over the phone."

"It wasn't me."

"I know your voice, Henry, I know it like my own."

"1600 you say?" Hayes asked.

"Yes, Sir."

"How long did it take for this 'Ricter' to connect to 'me'?"

"No more than three rings."

"I was on Air Force One, you know that all calls to Air Force One have a three minute connection delay to make sure that our flight can not be triangulated, we bounce off a hundred satellites before any connection is made."

"I know that. Mr. President there has been a massive security breach, both in the SGC and the Armed Forces. They were in the database, they have access to highly classified codes, your signature, and some way of duplicating voices perfectly. They knew exactly what was happening within the SGC...apparently even before you knew."

"And whoever it is has Dr. Jackson?"

"I'm afraid so."

"I'm on my way."

"Sir?"

"You heard me, General, I will be at the SGC with my top men by nightfall. If even half of any of this is true we are all in serious trouble."

"Agreed."

The line snapped dead. Hammond sat back and stared at the ceiling. He couldn't believe that he had been so throughly fooled. Worse he had handed Daniel over a clearly well organized group that could only have exploitation in mind. Hammond closed his eyes.

"What were you thinking? You knew something wasn't right. Am I really that mindless when it comes to following orders? If they hurt him..."

Hammond stopped. Daniel's life was regrettably not the true issue, it was the harm that the chemical he produced could cause. Hammond felt beyond responsible for the life of one man, he knew full well that his mistake could change the very fabric of society and violence.

There was a knock at his office door, but he didn't notice. Janet stepped into the room anyway, not used to being told to stay away she assumed that no answer was the same as 'come in'. She had an open folder in her hand that she was reading, but when she looked up at the General she almost dropped it.

"Sir, are you feeling oka..."

"Do you have any answers for me, Doctor?" Hammond interrupted.

"Um...no, Sir."

"Then unless this visit is a dire emergency I'd prefer not to be bothered right now."

"Of course, Sir."

Janet backed out of the General's office and quietly closed the door. She had come to talk to him about Daniel, but clearly this was not the time to get into that particular argument. Janet did not have the kind of security clearance that Hammond did into personnel files, however she was already coming to some conclusions about Daniel's abductors.

In the meantime she was also struggling to figure out the connection between SG-1 and the glass vials Sam had told her about. Teal'c had been able to tell her that Daniel had called the 'Dragon Tears', however he had no information on what that might be. Jack didn't know any more about it and suggested that she ask Daniel.

Janet had tried not to flush with guilt when the Colonel had made that particular suggestion. Jack and Sam had both been suffering their personal afflictions when the argument in the hall had taken place. Their sleep was so filled with nightmares that if they had heard anything they must have both decided that it was a dream rather than reality. Neither had any idea that Daniel was gone and Janet had asked that it stay that way. There was nothing they could do and they were already under enormous stress.

Feeling the strain herself Janet returned to her office to go over Sam's tests results again. It was a long shot, but at this point she didn't know what else to do. The one piece that still evaded her was why any Goa'uld would create a substance that had these effects.

"What would you gain?" Janet asked herself. "How could a Goa'uld use this madness?"

It didn't make any sense to her, no matter how she looked at it. Teal'c had even told her that this particular Goa'uld didn't even keep Jaffa slaves. She appeared to have no interests outside her own palace.

"She didn't even claim to be a 'god'..."

Janet was interrupted by a knock at her office door. She bid the visitor to come in. An Airwoman stepped inside nervously. She looked like she had just been crying. For a moment Janet felt that the woman was going to turn around and leave, but she stayed.

"Dr. Frasier?"

"Yes..." Janet struggled to recall the young woman's name.

"Captain Turner, Ma'am."

"Yes, Turner, I remember now." Janet smiled. "How can I help you, Captain?"

"I...um...I was thinking maybe I could help you."

"With what?"

"SG-1, Ma'am." Turner replied.

"How so?"

"Over the past month Teal'c and I have been...well...um..."

"Seeing each other?" Janet supplied.

"Yes, Ma'am. He...well... I can't say that I know him well, however, in the past month I found him not to be the man I expected." Turner said uncomfortably. "Now all of this has happened to SG-1 and everyone is saying that Teal'c hasn't been affected...but I think that he has."

"What makes you think that?"

"I was just visiting him, he was with Major Carter. She wasn't doing well, he was just about to help her into the shower. However he paused to talk to me. I told him that I was worried about him, that I knew he hadn't eaten in days. I have to admit that I started to cry."

"A perfectly normal response, Captain."

"What happened next was not. He said that he didn't want to see me sad, he reached out, touched me, and...I..."

The young Captain was distraught beyond words for a moment. Janet stepped forward and put her hands on Turner's shoulders for support as she broke into tears. Confused Janet pulled a tissue out of her pocket and offered it to Turner. Accepting the offer Turner brushed away her tears and attempted to pull herself together.

"I feel like a monster." Turner whimpered.

"Why? Captain, what happened?"

"I laughed."

"What?"

"Major Carter was lying on the floor crying so heartfeltly that she could barely breath and...and I laughed. She heard me...she thought that her pain was amusing me. I swear nothing could be further from the truth, I hold nothing but respect for her. However, I was overcome with a feeling of pure joy while she fought madness right before my eyes."

"You think Teal'c did that to you the same way Major Carter causes people to fall in love?"

"That emotion was not my own, Ma'am. My heart breaks for Major Carter and it has been heavier than a stone watching Teal'c suffer because his friends are ill."

"Captain..."

"Doctor, Teal'c willed me to feel better and against my will...I did."


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-four

Daniel hugged his arms close to his body in an attempt to stay warm. He exhaled a delicate white cloud as his hot breath reacted to the arctic air. He looked around and found his world to be an eerie frosty blue colour. Getting to his feet Daniel walked over to where the glass used to be. Every step he took his bare feet stuck to the cold metal grate floor.

Scrapping his fingernails against the barrier he discovered a thin layer of ice crystals had formed around the inside of the enclosure. Glancing up he noted that the sprinkler system had frozen into dagger like icicles that hung menacingly above him. Unconcerned about the dangling ice Daniel rubbed his arms to try and warm himself.

"Hello? Can anyone hear me?"

"I hear you, Daniel."

Daniel whipped around and sharply gasped in the crisp air which lanced pain into his warm lungs. Janet was standing just feet away. Blood ran down her face from a gash in her temple. Her throat held deep purple bruising that circled her ivory skin like a necklace. Janet looked up at him as a single tear slipped down her face and crystallized into ice.

Slowly lifting up his hands Daniel placed them on the marks around her throat, his hands were a perfect match. Janet suddenly gasped, locked in his grip she arched her back as she struggled to breath. He couldn't let her go, even as she clawed at his hands he found himself unable to release her. It wasn't until her dark eyes rolled back to white that she fell back to the floor. Daniel stared down at her as she weakly fluttered her eyes open.

"I...I was only trying to help you..."

"Janet?"

When Janet's eyes glazed in death the frozen room instantly melted. The heat was unbearable and it boiled directly into Daniel's blood. Woken directly from the nightmare into a fury Daniel curled his lip and roared like an injured lion. Instead of throwing himself against the glass he turned his anger on himself. Sinking his teeth into his forearm he clamped down till he drew blood.

Daniel was seconds away from tearing a sizable chunk of flesh off when the artificial rainstorm interrupted him. Soaked to the skin he released the painful grip. When the water stopped he drew the back of his hand across his lips to rub off the blood and then brushed the water out of his eyes. Looking up he saw the man he only knew as 'doctor' watching him.

"Thanks." Daniel muttered dispassionately.

"Nightmare?" Ricter asked.

Daniel nodded. He wandered over to the far side of the enclosure and sat down. Leaning against the glass he tilted his head back and closed his eyes against the sting of tears. He felt nauseous, but he didn't have the energy to be physically ill. The weight of Janet's death was making even breathing seem too difficult to be bothered with. He was allowed a few minutes to rest before Ricter spoke.

"Dr. Jackson, how are you feeling?"

"Miserable." Daniel sighed.

"Were you truly angry a few minutes ago or was that all in response to the dream?"

"I don't know."

"Understandable." Ricter replied. "I'd like to run a test, however it could be dangerous."

"Will it help Jack and Sam?"

"Possibly."

"Then do whatever you want with me." Daniel replied with a shrug.

"That's very selfless of you, Dr. Jackson."

"I've already killed one of my friends, I'd give anything to save the others."

"Dr. Ja..."

"'Daniel'."

"Daniel." Ricter repeated and then glanced around the empty room. "...My name is Adrien."

"Nice to met you, Adrien." Daniel smiled weakly.

"You as well." Ricter replied uncomfortably.

"So...where do we go from here?"

"We need to act quickly before you begin to react again. I'm going to bring in some of my associates, we'd like to do a functional MRI and a concurrent EEG. This will give us the spatial detail of an MRI and the speed resolution of an EEG."

"You can do that all at the same time?"

"It's tricky, the EEG can sometimes introduce artifacts and of course the metal leads have the chance of heating to the point of causing burns."

"Is that what made you say it was dangerous?" Daniel asked with little interest.

"No." Ricter shook his head. "No, this is dangerous because in order to get useful results we need you affected to the limits of endurance."

"Do whatever you think is best."

"Thank you for your cooperation."

Daniel smiled sadly and shrugged. Ricter called in four others, including the man who had questioned his tactics before. Daniel got to his feet as the glass slid up into the celling. He was offered a towel to dry off somewhat with. As he was led out of the room and down the hall he noticed an familiar humming sound.

"Are we underground?" Daniel asked.

"Yes. How did you know?"

"The SGC makes this same sound, something about the ventilation system."

"You are very observant." Ricter said with a hint of approval in his voice.

"It's my job."

Ricter nodded and used a key card to open the door they had come to. Daniel did not see the annoyed look on the second man's face, however Ricter did and corrected the man's attitude with a withering glare. Stepping into the room Daniel balked and automatically took a step back only to be pushed forward again. Daniel looked over his shoulder, unnerved even further by the sudden harsh treatment.

"Samuels," Ricter growled "watch your step! I apologize Daniel, my colleague did not expect you to come to a sudden stop."

"That's okay." Daniel tried to force a brave smile. "I suppose I need to lay down on that thing."

"I know it doesn't look the the MRI machines that you're used to. It is a little more...advanced."

"Funny, it looks medieval."

"The restraints are in place because it is vital that you not move and you are going to fight."

"How does it work?"

"Same basic principle as a regular MRI..."

"Sir," Samuels interrupted on the edge of a polite tone "we are waisting time. In ten more minutes he is going to be dangerous."

"Samu..."

"He's right." Daniel interrupted. "We can talk about how this works later."

"Alright, please get up on the table and lay down."

Daniel nodded and tried to swallow his fear. The white hard plastic table had several sets of black nylon straps firmly secured to it. On the near side the table branched off so that when laying on his back Daniel's right arm was held out from the side of his body. Ricter attached a pair of EEG leads to Daniel's temples while the rest of the team worked quickly to secure him down.

Samuel tightened the restraint on Daniel's upturned right wrist hard enough to cause the delicate bones to grind together. Daniel was about to complain when he felt a similar painful pressure around his chest causing him to gasp in panic as it became difficult to breath. When the straps bit into his ankles and hips Daniel yelped and began fighting. A powerful wave of claustrophobia assaulted him when he realized he could do little more than clench his fists and thrash his head. Just as his fear was becoming overwhelming it transferred into frustration as anger seeped into his blood.

"Let me go!"

"Easy, Daniel." Ricter said softly as he put his hand over Daniel's forehead. "I know the restraints are painfully tight, however even three millimeters of motion will ruin the test."

"Adrien, I'm getting angry, if you don't leave the room soon you're going to forget I'm a patient." Daniel panted. "You're going to torture me out of spite if you don't hurry."

"Samuels, finish restraining him, I'll get the IV in. The rest of you get out and be prepared to stop us if we lose control."

Daniel looked up at Samuels fearfully, thinking he had already been affected. However the man didn't seem to have any true malice in his face, just a chilling clinical detachment. When Samuels tried to force something between his teeth Daniel clenched his jaw and started to fight for freedom once more. Samuels reached down and took a hold of one of Daniel's fingers and bent it back to nearly its breaking point in an attempt to get his patient to open his jaw in a cry of pain.

"Samuels, enough! Don't just try forcing something in his mouth and expect him to accept it." Ricter snapped angrily. "Daniel, it's a 'bite bar'." Ricter explained while he continued to look for a vein in Daniel's arm. "Prevents you from biting off your tongue and it will help keep you still. Just relax, if you can."

Despite the adrenaline rushing through his increasingly heated blood Daniel closed his eyes and attempted to relax. Willingly opening his mouth he peacefully allow restraining gag to be placed between his teeth. Daniel focused entirely on remaining relaxed even as his the last of freedom was stolen. There was a strap attached to the bar that fit under his chin that once tightened kept him from releasing the rubber mouth piece, all he could manage was to bite down on it harder. With the addition of a hard piece of clear plastic secured to the table and then pressed against either ear Daniel was immobilized.

"Don't fight your anger." Ricter said softly. "And try not to be afraid."

Daniel tried to nod in response, but he was incapable of even the slightest motion in that direction. Instead he opened his hand in an offer for Ricter to take it. Ricter hesitated but he took Daniel's hand as though they were truly friends. Daniel gave Ricter's hand a reassuring squeeze to let him know that he wasn't frightened, even if it wasn't true.

The unspoken show of trust caused Ricter to hesitate for a fatal moment. Daniel had been fighting the impending madness for too long. Overwhelmed by the chemical that seared his skin Daniel clamped down on Ricter's hand with all his strength. Struck by a similar rage Ricter cried out, using his free hand he dug his nails into the bite wound that Daniel had inflicted upon himself earlier.

Samuels ducked under the table and tackled Ricter around the midsection. Ricter was torn out of Daniel's grip and driven to the floor. Locked in combat the two men rolled on the floor with their hands locked on one another's throats. Samuels had just gotten the upper hand when three men in haz-mat gear burst into the room and separated the pair. They were hauled into a shower room across the hall and calmed under cold water.

"Well at least now we've gotten a first hand look at the affects." Ricter mused.

"We barely made it out of there!" Samuel snarled with his own anger.

"He held back as long as he could and it caused the reaction to be more violent when he couldn't control it any longer. That must mean if he remains in control then he doesn't release its affects on others as well...fascinating."

"We could have been killed."

"We're fine."

"You risk our safety and waste too much time!" Samuels argued. "I could have had him tethered down in three minutes flat if you would let us drop this ridiculous pretense!"

"This pretense is the only thing keeping him alive."

"What?"

"Dani...Dr. Jackson already has sever blood pressure issues, fear would compound them." Ricter explained. "He would have probably died of heart failure if he'd hadn't trusted us."

"How do you come to that conclusion?"

"Samuels...try to imagine for just a moment that it was you being nailed to a table under a machine you didn't recognize by men you feared while your blood raged with a fever that you couldn't control."

"Why don't _you_ try imagining for just a moment what it would be like to be told that you'd slaughtered someone you care for." Samuels retorted.

"Are you trying to tell me that you feel sorry for Dr. Jackson thinking that his friend is dead?"

"No. I'm just pointing out the hypocrisy of your treatment of him."

"Duly noted. Get back to work."

"Yes, Sir."

Ricter pushed past Samuels and made his way into the control room that was separated from the unusual MRI by a piece of thick glass. Three technicians were busy at work and the instruments were already collecting a wealth of data. Ricter left the workings of the machines to the technicians and watched Daniel.

With every muscle pulled tight Daniel screamed through the mouth piece and strained against the restraints with enough force to cause them to cut into his skin. The IV that Ricter had set into Daniel's arm allowed for them to draw blood while he was in the throws of the rage. With his fists clenched in a white knuckled grip and his toes curled Daniel jerked spasmodically at the restrains in a desperate bid for freedom.

"Sir," Samuels said meekly as he stepped into the room "is everything in working order?"

"Yes, Samuels, you did an expert job in its design, it's telling us what is going on in his mind down to the last neuron."

"Thank you, Sir. This machine is my baby."

"I know that. You should be proud."

Samuels nodded and took a seat in front of one of the colorful screens. His earlier insubordination seemed to have vanished in light of seeing his creation in motion. Ricter took his eyes off Daniel for a moment to check the current image.

"Wait a minute, Samuels, that can't be right." Ricter said as he tapped a bright spot on the screen.

"I assure you that it is."

"Hmmmm..." Ricter mused and glanced up at Daniel.

Locked in a body that had almost no motion Daniel appeared to waging an internal war. Struggling for every breath against the tight band on his chest he no longer cried out. Instead he poured his energy into freeing himself from the straps. Ricter turned his attention back to the screen and found that the display was continuing to show readings that defied conventional logic.

"Alright, that's enough. Get him out of there."

"It's only been fifteen minutes." Samuels argued. "I think he can go further."

"Not without permanent brain damage."

"What does that matter?"

"I said 'that's enough'." Ricter repeated in a threatening tone. "Dr. Jackson is my responsibility and I am getting sick of your insubordination. If it continues for much longer I am going t..."

"Sir!" One of the technicians cried as there was a sharp snapping sound.

Ricter jerked his head up and stared through the glass. Daniel had managed to snap the strap on his left ankle. At first he just kicked violently at the table, but once he got his foot down on the flat surface he started pushing against it with rage enhanced strength. When the hip restraint also broke Daniel was able to twist, however with his chest and shoulders still secured all he was doing was threatening to break his own back.

"Damn it! Turn the fire system on in there."

"We'll destroy the equip..." Samuels protested.

"Now!"

One of the technicians set off the emergency fire sprinklers. Samuels cried out in anguish as the delicate machine in the next room was soaked. Ricter rushed in to help Daniel. Despite being soaked to the skin Daniel was still struggling in panic and twisting his back into a dangerous position.

Ricter freed Daniel's jaw first thinking that it would help calm him. Free to scream Daniel did exactly that. Blood dripped from his wrists where the strap had cut into them. Fearing Daniel was close to breaking the delicate bones in his wrist Ricter released the strap. Daniel instantly used the new freedom to claw at the band over his chest.

Trying to get the strap off he ended up sinking his fingernails through the cloth of his scrubs and into the flesh. Ricter put one hand over Daniel's and then used the other to turn his panicking patient's face towards him. Daniel's eyes were wide with horror, but upon seeing Ricter he released his painful grip on his own chest.

"A...Adrien?"

"I'm right here, Daniel, calm down. Deep breath."

Free to move his head Daniel nodded. Closing his eyes he took a few deep breaths as order. When he felt it was safe Ricter removed the rest of the restraints. Daniel scrambled off the far side of the table and hit the floor. Only making it to his hands and knees he wretched bile onto the wet white tile floor. When he was done he reached up and used the edge of the table to help him to his feet.

"Daniel?" Ricter asked.

"Did...did you get what you needed?"

"I think so."

"Good...good." Daniel nodded vacantly. "I...uh...I think I'm going to pass out now."

"Go right ahead."

Daniel smiled weakly before his eyes rolled back. Ricter quickly reached out over the table and snaked his hands under Daniel's arms to keep him from collapsing to the floor. One of the men came in and gathered Daniel up in his arms. Ricter walked around the table and pulled the IV needle out of Daniel's arm and disconnected the EEG leads. He brushed Daniel's wet hair away from his face and noted the burn marks that the metal leads had seared into his skin.

"Do you want him back in the lab, Sir?" The man holding Daniel asked.

"No...take him to quarantine 2." Ricter replied softly.

"Yes, Sir."

Ricter took his hand away from Daniel's forehead and turned away. Walking back into the control room he sat down and started leafing through some of the data they had collected without really looking at it. Samuels sat down next to Ricter and just stared at him silently.

"I'm sorry about your equipment, Samuels." Ricter muttered.

"I can fix it."

"Then what is it that you want?"

"Quarantine 2 doesn't have the right monitoring equipment." Samuels pointed out. "In the lab we can control things better, we should put him back in the fishbowl."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because..." Ricter hesitated. "Dani...Dr. Jackson deserves a bed for the night, not a cold metal floor."

"Sir, with all due respect," Samuels paused unsure if he should continue his thought "Sir, if I didn't know any better I'd say that..."

"If you _**don't**_ know any better then I suggest you keep your mouth _**shut**_. Understood?"

"Yes, Sir."


	25. Chapter 25

NOTE: Class got out a few hours early today! There is some **slight** shippiness here, but nothing worse than on the original show...so cope.

Chapter Twenty-five

"Dr. Frasier, I am afraid that I do not understand."

"I want you to try and make me laugh. We think you've been affected by this 'phenomenon' as well."

"You have already heard the one joke I have to offer...if I recall you did not find it amusing in the past. I do not know what to say."

"Actually, I'd rather you not say anything."

"Shall I tickle you then?"

"Okay, that's funny." Janet smiled. "However, still not what I'm looking for. I just want you to will me to laugh and touch my hand."

"Very well."

Teal'c still didn't look very sure of what Janet was asking of him. However he closed his eyes and took a deep breath before slowly opening them again. Janet was a little unnerved by the intense look in the Jaffa's dark eyes. Janet held her hand out for Teal'c to take, but he instinctively reached out and brushed her cheek instead.

At first Janet didn't think that it had worked and then it hit her. Despite the long hours, the stress, the worry, and all the frustration Janet's heavy heart suddenly lifted. At first she just chuckled, but as Teal'c continued to watch her she burst into a full fit of laughter. Tears streamed down her face as she crossed her arms over her stomach from the ache the giggling was causing.

"St...Teal'c stop..." Janet gasped. "I can't...breath."

"I apologize."

"It's okay." Janet panted as she brushed away the last of the tears.

"What does this prove?"

"I think it proves that you are truly infected as well."

"I shall report to quarantine."

"No, I don't think that's needed." Janet shook her head. "Unlike the others you have mental control over it and it doesn't affect you personally."

"Is this because I am Jaffa?"

"Could be. However, I have another theory." Janet pulled out the medical files she had been combing through. "I went back to your last mission, I had to bandage up Colonel O'Neill's hand for a deep cut, Major Carter needed similar treatment for a laceration in her foot, and I pulled a sizable piece of glass out of Daniel's shoulder."

"I had no such injuries."

"That's right. I think you only came in skin contact with these 'Dragon Tears'. I think the rest of SG-1 had it mixed with their blood. Can you tell me anything about Dragon Tears?"

"I can not, I had never heard of them before Daniel Jackson mentioned them."

"How did he know what they were?"

"I must assume that the Goa'uld told him while we were separated."

"Right." Janet said before becoming lost in thought.

"Dr. Frasier? Are you ill?"

"No. No, Teal'c, just thinking."

"Do you believe that you may have an answer?"

"Not exactly. However, I think I see now how these Dragon Tears are supposed to work. I think that the person is meant to rub it on their skin and it gives them the ability to impose an emotion on another. A kind of reverse empath."

"For what purpose?"

"Control. When I was under Sam's influence I would have done anything for her. If she had told me to slit my wrists for her I would have without a second worth of thought. I think in her case the Dragon Tears being directly in her blood is causing the reaction to rage out of control and affect her directly as well, she has no control over it the way you do."

"The Goa'uld must have known that high exposure was dangerous." Teal'c added. "When Daniel Jackson and Colonel O'Neill broke the cabinet she fled."

"I hope that doesn't mean there isn't a cure."

"If there is one the Goa'uld Ryūjin knows of it." Teal'c growled. "I will ask General Hammond for permission to return to the planet and retrieve the information from her."

"Hold on, Teal'c, before we send you off on a hopeless suicide mission let's look into this new data for a bit and see if we can't come up with a cure of our own." Janet suggested. "Besides the General has his hands full at the moment with the President."

"Do you know what that is about?"

"No, but I have my theories."

"Do you require my assistance any longer?" Teal'c asked.

"No, you can go back downstairs."

"I have actually promised Captain Turner that I would break for lunch with her today."

"Even better." Janet smiled. "I'll keep an eye on what is left of SG-1 for you."

Teal'c graced Janet with a shallow bow and left her office. Janet got up from her desk and was forced to sit back down again from a dizzy spell. She knew she was pushing herself too hard, but that wasn't going to keep her from continuing. Getting up more slowly this time she made it to the hallway.

Janet felt that General Hammond really needed to know about this new development, however his office was all but sealed off at the moment. Heading off to the only other logical place Janet made her way to the elevator.

Stepping into Jack's room she found him sitting on the floor in the corner. It was a step up from cowering under the bed. His short cropped hair was wet making Janet wonder if Teal'c had run down her quickly and forced him into the shower before heading off to lunch. It seemed likely. Janet cleared her throat to make herself known, but Jack still didn't acknowledge her.

"How are you feeling, Sir?"

"Fine." Jack muttered unconvincingly.

"How is your shoulder?"

"Fine." Jack replied again.

Jack shifted his weight and finally looked up at Janet. It was clear that he'd been crying which was probably why he'd refused to look up at her at first. Jack locked his dark gaze on Janet and held her like a snake hypnotizing a bird. When Janet didn't say anything Jack's eyes narrowed into irate slits.

"Sir?" Janet asked concerned.

"Are you going to tell me or not?" Jack demanded in a venomous tone.

"Tell you what?"

"I'll take that as a 'no'."

"Colonel?"

Jack wasn't in the mood for further conversation. He curled up in the corner and stared blankly at the wall. Janet watched him for a moment. There was a guilty feeling in her stomach that told her that Jack knew that Daniel was gone. She briefly thought about telling him the truth, but when she couldn't find the courage she simply left.

Next door Sam was also fresh out of the shower. She however didn't seem to be acting like herself. She was standing at the wall that used to separate her from Daniel. With her hands held at chest height she delicately touched the wall with her fingertips. Eyes closed she took a few deep breaths and knit her brow together.

To Janet it looked like Sam was pouring her full concentration into something. What that something might be was beyond Janet's imagination. Seemingly unaware of Janet's arrival Sam continued to run her fingertips over the wall. She suddenly stopped and turned to Janet.

"Where is he?"

"Sam..."

"Janet, is Daniel dead?" Sam asked point blank.

"No."

"But he's no longer here." Sam stated rather than asked.

"H...how do you know?"

"The same way I know that Colonel O'Neill is sitting in the far left corner of his room rather than hiding under the bed."

"Sam?" Janet took a concerned step closer to the glass. "What's going on? How do you know that?"

"I can feel it. If I close my eyes and concentrate I can feel someone's heart beating if they are near by. That and I haven't heard Daniel throwing himself at the glass all day."

Janet was at a loss for words for a moment, stunned by this new ability of Sam's.

"Janet, please, where's Daniel? Is he alright?"

"I don't know." Janet admitted sadly. "I don't know the answer to either one of those questions."

"What happened?"

"It would appear that the Army took possession of him, although I really can't confirm that with a hundred percent certainly. All I really know is 'someone' took him."

"Janet this is one of the most secure locations on Earth, how could anyone just come in here and 'take' Daniel?"

"In the end it came down to following orders." Janet said sadly.

Sam took a breath to protest however she just released it in a frustrated sigh. She knew how deeply ingrained following orders could be, even when they didn't make one hundred percent sense. If a solider thought about every order before acting, the whole system would fail.

"You know, Janet, sometimes I have a real Love/Hate relationship with the Armed Forces."

"Wha...what did you just say?" Janet stuttered.

"Nothing." Sam shook her head slowly.

"No, I think you might have something there. Wait here."

"I'm not going anywhere."

Sam furrowed her brow in concern as Janet suddenly dashed away. Even just out of the shower it hurt to have her leave in a hurry. It was like it physically tore at her heart every time she was left alone. Sighing sadly Sam walked over to her bed and picked up the teddy bear that Janet had brought her.

Hugging the bear tightly to her chest Sam wandered over to the far corner of the room. Sitting down facing the wall Sam reached out and placed her palm on the wall that separated her from Jack. If she closed her eyes she could sense his steady heartbeat. It was like the wall was thumping in rhythm with him.

Feeling him there was a blessing and a curse. It was comforting to know exactly where he was. At the same time it was unnerving to have this new talent. Plus it wasn't going to help her in ten to fifteen minutes when she slipped into her lonely depression. Even now the isolation was starting to crush in on her.

Before Sam could over think her situation Janet returned. She had hastily pulled her hair back into a ponytail this morning, but several loosely curled locks had escaped and were framing her delicate face perfectly. Sam shook her head, knowing that these thoughts were not her own.

Janet had a sealed thermos in her hand which she placed inside the first door and then punched in her code so that Sam could open the other door. Sam retrieved the odd gift. Opening the container she gave it a hesitant sniff. It didn't smell like anything.

"Just drink it." Janet instructed.

"What is it?"

"You...uh....you don't want to know." Janet replied with a nervous smile.

Sam raised one of her eyebrows, but Janet just broadened her smile. Shaking her head sadly Sam knocked back the liquid. It tasted like water, however as it was hitting her stomach she suddenly felt herself flashing to anger. She threw the thermos at the glass as hard as she could, but after her brief brush with temper she settled down once again.

"Please tell me that wasn't what I think it was." Sam said ruefully.

"A cup of bathwater isn't going to kill you."

"Janet, Daniel and I really aren't that close...I'm not sure any two people on this planet are."

"Disgusting yes, but how do you feel."

"A little queezy."

"Let's give it ten minutes."

"You don't really think Daniel's anger can cure my love, do you?"

"I don't know. It probably isn't a permanent solution, but it might help. Right now I'm desperate for any treatment. I haven't told you this yet, but your blood pressure had been getting dangerously low."

"And Daniel's was getting dangerously high."

"Exactly."

"Janet...what are they going to do to him?" Sam asked sadly. "Please tell me something is being done to get Daniel back."

"General Hammond is meeting with the President himself right now."

"The President?"

"If you ask me Daniel's abduction is the sign of a major security breach."

"You don't think Army has him at all, do you?"

"No. It doesn't make any sense, if the army wanted a bioweapon Colonel O'Neill would have been the intelligent choice."

"Yes, but Daniel's a civilian...easier to erase from the records."

"That might be why he was taken, I really don't know. Right now I'm just trying to figure out how to help the patients that I have left."

"And we appreciate it." Sam smiled.

"You have to ride the horse in the direction it's going." Janet teased. "So that's what I'm trying to do, just move forward."

"How is Colonel O'Neill doing?"

"He suspects Daniel is gone as well."

"You really need to tell him, he deserves to know."

"I know."

"Do you think if Daniel's anger helps me that it could help the Colonel as well?"

"I don't think so." Janet shook her head. "What you need is to despise people a little, if we added anger to Colonel O'Neill's fear I think we'd just make him dangerous."

"Good point."

"How are you feeling?"

"Normal. How long has it been?"

"Almost ten minutes since I first came down here. Usually by this time you're telling me how lovely my eyes are."

Sam chuckled and Janet found herself smiling as well. Having a thought Sam stepped up to the glass. Pressing her palm against it she closed her eyes. Janet watched in fascination as Sam attempted to sense her heartbeat. Sam snapped her eyes open and smiled brightly.

"I think you might be onto something, Janet. I can't tell you're there."

"I'm going to leave for a few minutes and see how it affects you."

"Okay."

Sam watched Janet leave, only this time it wasn't the painful separation that it usually was. She could easily tell herself that Janet was going to be right back and it wasn't a big deal. Sam started pacing back and forth at the glass in excitement of letting Janet know that she hadn't been missed.

However after five minutes Sam's elation turned once more to despair. Disappointed as well as painfully heartbroken Sam sat on the floor and began crying once more. For some reason this time it was harder to take. Sam fought her tears and screamed with frustration when she couldn't rein in her emotions. Hearing the anguished cry Janet rushed back into the room.

"Sam?"

"Janet!" Sam cried and jumped up to put her hands on the glass. "Janet, help me, please...I can't do this anymore."

"The balancing affect wore off too quickly." Janet said in defeat. "I can't risk introducing it into your blood, I'm sorry, Sam."

"Janet, don't make me go through this again." Sam whimpered through her tears. "I'm in such pain, I can barely breath, physical pain I can bear, but this emotion is tearing my very soul apart. Don't let it happen again, please, _please_!"

"Sa..."

"If you step away from this glass...I'm going to kill myself."

"Sam, don't talk like that."

"I tried to drown myself in the sink last night." Sam admitted. "The water snapped me out of it, but I'm coming to a point where that's not going to save me. Drug me, kill me, whatever, I don't care...just end this, please, please..."

Janet reached up and brushed away tears of her own as she watched Sam beg for release. Sam kept her tear reddened aqua eyes locked on Janet's face, searching for mercy. Janet searched her own mind for options and sighed in defeat. Although Sam kept her attention on Janet she began crying harder. The bathwater was keeping her more lucid during her episode, but it wasn't taking away any of the pain.

"I only have one more thing that I know to try...if that doesn't work I promise I'll place you in an induced coma."

"Thank you, Janet, thank you." Sam panted in relief. "What else can we do?"

"It might be disastrous, but I think we should try putting you and Colonel O'Neill together."

"Yes, I would do _anything_ for company."

"I know, and Colonel O'Neill fears for your safety constantly. Since you can't affect each other, maybe you can help one another."

"Please, I want to try that."

"Take a shower first."

Sam nodded and rushed into the bathroom. Still unsure of her decision Janet walked over to the intercom and switched it on.

"Teal'c?"

"Dr. Frasier" Teal'c answered a minute later.

"I hate to interrupt your break, but I need you to come down here and run Colonel O'Neill through the shower and then oversee an experiment."

"I am on my way."

"Thank you."

Sam came out of the shower, clean and changed. She had a concerned look on her face. Walking up the glass she looked Janet over for a minute. Sam started to say something and stopped before trying again.

"Janet, I have the distinct memory that you said you wanted to try putting Colonel O'Neill and I together."

"I did say that."

"Have you lost your mind?" Sam asked seriously.

"Maybe." Janet admitted. "Honestly I think it is worth trying. You trust each other so fully and you can't affect each other, he might be able to keep you from being lonely and you might ease his fears."

"What if I...uh..."

"We'll keep you two under twenty-four hour sharp eyed watch. We don't have to try it."

"My only other option is a coma, isn't it?"

"At this point, I'm afraid so."

"Let's try it."

Janet nodded and put her code in the door that allowed Sam to leave the glass prison. Going next door they discovered that Teal'c had already helped Jack into the shower. Deeply depressed even when wet Jack was once again sitting in the corner. Janet entered her code into the door once more and Sam hesitantly stepped inside.

Jack looked up at the intruder and gasped sharply. Jumping to his feet Jack rushed over and threw his arms around Sam and pulled her into a warm embrace. Sam smiled and returned the affection. Jack suddenly released her and backed away.

"I...uh...it's good to see you alive and well, Carter." Jack flushed.

"You too, Sir."

"What are you doing here?" Jack asked and then looked over at Janet. "What is she doing here? And I swear to God if you don't tell me what is happening with Daniel I'm going to..."

"Sir," Sam interrupted "Daniel was taken."

"Taken? As in kidnapped?"

"More or less." Janet said.

"How the hell does something like that happen?!" Jack snapped.

"It's a long story, Sir." Janet replied. "Please, just know we are doing everything we can to get him back."

"You'd better be." Jack hissed. "Now then, Carter, you need to get back to your box. Unless, Doc, has some miracle cure."

"No cure, Sir." Sam said sadly. "However, we want to try keeping us together to see if it can help mitigate our symptoms."

"Sounds dangerous."

"I am here to intervene." Teal'c assured.

Jack looked at everyone in turn, silently letting them all know that he thought they were all nuttier than a jar of peanut butter. However, he accepted the experiment. At first he just went over to his corner and sat back down alone.

As the minutes ticked by and Sam became once more affected she hesitantly moved closer to him. When she sat down next to Jack he instinctively jerked away. He stared at Sam for a moment before truly recognizing her. Sam smiled shyly and leaned against his shoulder with her own. They stayed like this for another ten minutes, seemingly unaware of Teal'c and Janet on the far side of the glass.

"Carter, we're not safe here." Jack said as his own paranoia mounted.

"You won't let anything happen to me."

"Never." Jack agreed.

"I'm so tired." Sam whispered.

"Sleep, I'll watch over you."

"Thank you, Sir."

Sam laid down and curled up next to Jack. He got up long enough to fetch the blanket off the bed. When he came back over he placed the blanket over Sam and sat down so that she could put her head in his lap. Sam nuzzled against him and soon she was sleeping deeply. Jack kept a sharp eye out, his fear now focused into a need to protect.

After about twenty minutes Jack started to nod off himself. It had been nearly a week since either of them had truly slept, before they had just been passing out from stress and in the end it wasn't the same. Jack adjusted so that his back was up against the corner. He gathered Sam up into his arms so that if anyone attempted to take her he'd instantly be awakened. He fought to keep watch for a few more minutes before nestling his head down. With Sam's head on his chest he settled with their cheeks touching and slipped into sleep himself. Janet smiled and turned to Teal'c.

"I think this is going to work." Janet said softly. "At least they'll be more comfortable together than alone."

"How did you come to this idea?"

"I don't know. Something told me nothing could make the Colonel fear Samantha."

"And what of Major Carter? What is to keep her from falling in love with O'Neill?"

"She's resisted that for years...it's second nature to her."

"Indeed."


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-six

"Arrggh...do you guys not _have_ hot water around here?"

Daniel's aggravated question was left unanswered. The two haz-mat protected men who had hauled him out of bed and under the cold shower spray left without a word. Daniel rolled his eyes and adjusted the water temperature himself. He pulled off his wet scrubs as the shower slowly heated up.

The struggle against the MRI restraints the day before had left just about every muscle in his body sore and aching. Daniel bowed his head in the powerful spray to work on the tight muscles stretched across his shoulders. He rubbed at his injured wrists causing them to bleed once more. Reaching up he gingerly touched one of the four small burn at his temples and in his forehead from the EEG leads.

"What choice to you have?" Daniel sighed to himself. "The only other doctor with even half a chance of fixing this is... I'm so sorry, Janet. I still don't even remember it. I wish I could."

Still under the hot spray Daniel closed his eyes and leaned forward to rest his forehead against the icy title wall. Part of him had hopped that being allowed to take his anger to the edge of physical breakdown would have rided his system of it. However the violent nightmares he'd been having just prior to being dragged into the shower told him otherwise.

Knowing that every drop of water that hit his skin needed to be decontaminated Daniel begrudgingly turned off the comforting shower. Stepping out he toweled off. He quickly found a pair of scrub pants to crawl into, but after a search of the small bathroom he found no shirt to go with it and his original clothing was already gone. The quarantine room he found himself in now looked very similar to the one at the SGC with the exception that the glass here was a one-way mirror.

Completely exhausted Daniel walked over to the bed and laid down. He was relieved to find that they had thought to remove the sheets he'd slept on last night already. Free of any madness at least for the time being Daniel tried to relax. Before he got that chance he heard the door sliding open. Daniel glanced over and saw Samuels along with two strong looking men enter the room.

"Dr. Jackson, please get up and follow me."

"Where is Adrien?" Daniel asked as he sat up.

"He is unavailable today, I will be attending to you."

"Unavailable?"

"Please, Dr. Jackson, we do not have much time before you become dangerous to us once more." Samuels replied. "Come with us."

"No." Daniel shook his head. "I'm not going anywhere. Where is Adrien?"

"Need I remind you that your friends are dying?"

Daniel tensed at the sound of threat in Samuels' tone. He glanced at the men that Samuels had brought with them, they looked more like guards than nurses. Feeling uneasy Daniel got to his feet. Samuels flashed Daniel a cold smile and stepped aside so that Daniel could walk in between the two men. Trying to keep calm Daniel peacefully allowed them to lead him down the tunnel like hall.

"Dare I ask what you have planned for me today?" Daniel asked, trying to keep a light tone.

"I require tissue samples."

"That doesn't sound pleasant."

"I am simply doing what I must."

Samuels cold 'just-following-orders' tone was making Daniel increasingly anxious. He had no real reason to believe Samuels meant him true harm, at the same time he had no reason to trust the man either. The idea that he was being used rather than helped had crossed his mind more than once, but he wasn't sure there was anything he could do about it. The added risk that being uncooperative could keep Sam and Jack from a cure kept him silent about his suspicions.

When they stepped into a room that looked ready for surgery Daniel second thought his decision to be a willing subject. Once again the table held restraints that didn't look like they'd been put in place recently. It looked more like they were used to resistance around here. The table was made of several interlocking sections and underneath it was supported by what looked like hydrolics.

"On the table, lay on your left side." Samuel instructed.

"What is this place? Why doesn't any of the equipment here look like it actually belongs in an Earth hospital?"

"Dr. Jackson, this is a highly secret, state-of-the-art, government facility that I don't have time to explain to you. We only have twenty-five minutes."

"Is this going to be painful?"

"Yes."

"At least you're honest."

"I am sorry, there is simply no time for anesthetics. There is also no way of knowing how your body would react to them in your current condition. It could also taint the samples."

Daniel looked into Samuels' greenish eyes and felt that the man truly meant the words he had said. Nodding in resignation Daniel jumped up on the table and laid on his side. Without a shirt the cold metal table was a bit of a shock to his skin. Samuels and the men with him wasted no time in securing him down. Since he was laying on his side it was a bit awkward, but in the end he found himself with only slightly more freedom than on the previous day. Daniel managed not to be concerned until Samuels came up to him with a piece of black cloth and tied it over his eyes.

"Wha...what are you doing?"

"You will be in less distress if you can not see what we are doing." Samuels replied. "The instruments look far more frightening than they truly are. Open your jaw."

Daniel was about to refuse, but he recalled the measures that Samuels was willing to take in order to make sure he complied. Opening his mouth he quickly had a U shaped piece of rubber between his teeth, the proverbial bullet to bite on. Although already blinded Daniel closed his eyes and focused on relaxing. He reasoned that no matter what torture the medical lab had in store it couldn't last more than twenty minutes.

Despite trying to convince himself to remain calm Daniel jerked and struggled when the table beneath him moved. The tight strap around his ribs became harder to breath against as his knees were brought closer to his chest by the intricately articulating table. When the hydrolics whined to a stop Daniel was frozen in a near fetal position.

"I will perform everything as quickly as is safe, Dr. Jackson." Samuels announced. "Anywhere you feel the cold contact of the disinfectant will be the area where the discomfort will originate so that you may prepare yourself. It is critical that you remain as still as possible to prevent injury."

Even though he knew it didn't matter Daniel nodded. He listened to the clinking of metal instruments and Samuels giving some last minute instructions to the men in the room. Daniel's heart raced as Samuels rubbed an alcohol swath across his lower back. There was no question in his mind what Samuels was about to do. A spinal tap made his current flexed position make sense. It was a procedure he'd been through before and he recalled it had been unpleasant even with the proper numbing.

A clinical touch of steel was pressed against Daniel's lower back followed by a sharp pain. Knowing that moving while there was a needle in his spine could paralyze him Daniel remained motionless. He held his breath until the pain radiating up his back forced him to whimper. Samuels offered no words of comfort and simply continued with the spinal fluid collection.

When the needle was drawn back out Daniel exhaled in relief. It hadn't been fun, but he had certainly been through worse. Samuels pressed a wet gauze pad against the spot hard in what Daniel assumed was an attempt to stem the bleeding. The table sprung back to life, straightening him out and even arching his back in the opposite direction to the point of stretching the muscles of his abdomen tight. For a moment Daniel had the thought that if they wanted to they could keep the table moving and break his back.

Samuels wasted no time and quickly rubbed the cold disinfected over Daniel's stomach just below his ribs. Daniel's heart started pounding hard enough for him to hear it reverberating in his ears. Unlike the spinal tap he was unsure what to expect this time and he felt far more vulnerable with his belly exposed than he had curled up. He was about to spit out the rubber mouth piece and ask what what was going on when Samuels interupted his thoughts.

"Deep breath." Samuels instructed.

Daniel followed orders and took as deep a breath as the strap around his ribs would allow. Before he could release the breath there was a burst of pain that lanced through his stomach. Gasping despite an already full set of lungs caused Daniel to choke and cough. If he didn't know any better he would have sworn that he had just been shot. The pain ebbed but did not disappear.

While he was still trying to recover from the invasive procedure he felt them begin the process again higher up on his ribs. This time when Samuel asked Daniel to take a deep breath he hesitated. Samuel repeated his command in a more menacing tone. Daniel slowly took the demanded breath. This time during the impalement he bit down on the mouthpiece and screamed. He had the feeling that he had just lost a small piece of his lung to the doctor, and most likely a bit of liver the time before.

Struggling to breath without hyperventilating Daniel spit out the mouthpiece they had given him. Under the blindfold thick tears caught in his lashes as the stabbing pain reverted to an intense throbbing. When Samuels tilted Daniel's head back to get at his throat Daniel pressed his chin to his chest.

"No. Enough." Daniel panted. "Please, sto..."

Daniel was cut off as a rough set of hands tangled into his hair and jerked his head back. When he took a breath to protest the mouthpiece was forced back into place. Not waiting for the pain Daniel cried out in panic. The man holding his hair changed his grip to under Daniel's chin and forced his head back so far that he couldn't open his jaw again. A fearful sweat beaded Daniel's skin as the doctor rubbed the alcohol on his throat.

"Goddamn it, hold him still!" Samuels' snarled.

With his blood washed in panic Daniel didn't feel the effects of the rage that was taking hold. Fighting against the restraints he reopened the gory bracelets he already wore from the previous day. When the sharp steel plunged into his throat every muscle in Daniel's body tensed. Trembling from the trauma Daniel cried out repeatedly, each time his muffled voice held more anger and less fear.

"We're almost out of time, Sir." One of the men announced.

"Then get him wet, I'm not done."

The man holding Daniel's head back released him. Daniel spat out the rubber piece again and shook his head in an attempt to move the blindfold. As his panic seeped away it was quickly replaced by anger. The shock of cold water being poured over him however brought him to the edge of unconsciousness and all his anger was forgotten. Exhausted, still in pain, and now freezing cold Daniel gave in and laid quietly without struggle. Feeling his throat closing in he swallowed convulsively, but other than that he appeared peaceful.

Samuels said nothing to Daniel. He growled a few orders to the others, but nothing that gave Daniel an idea of what was going on. He closed his blind eyes and focused on breathing and trying to ease his racing heart. He wondered briefly if Adrien had entered the room and if that was the true reason he'd been robbed of his sight.

Daniel quickly found the rubber piece that he had spit out back between his teeth. Tears slipped from his closed eyes, but he was determined to remain calm. Samuels tugged on the waistband of Daniel's scrubs to bring them low on his hips and started to disinfect the area just off center to his extreme lower back. Bile stung the back of Daniel's throat as the anticipation of the next unknown procedure.

The previous experiences had done nothing to prepare him for the cruelty of Samuels' medical curiosity. An invasive piece of sharp steel was buried into Daniel's hip, the tip embedded into the sturdy bone. Once stuck in the bone Samuels leaned his weight against it and turned the metal awl to sink into the marrow cavity.

Beyond being able to cry out Daniel weld his eyes shut against the intense wave of agony that each twisting motion brought. He bit down on the mouthpiece he'd been given hard enough to make his teeth sink into it. The thickening haze of pain clouded his mind and his thoughts. It didn't take more than a few seconds of agony to turn his thoughts away from the idea that this was a medical procedure. Driven delirious Daniel assumed that he must be under a true torturer's hand.

Grinding his teeth together Daniel became determined to fight back. Instantly, as if someone had switched off a light, the pain vanished. At the same time Samuel screeched out at the top of his lungs. Collapsing to the floor he held his hip as though he had just been shot there. Unable to see what was happening Daniel could only lay still and listen to the chaos. There was the sound of metal tools hitting the title floor followed by a wail of pain. The staff was trying to assist Samuels, but he screamed and lashed out at anyone who attempted to touch him.

"Stop!" Samuels screamed in agony. "Please! Stop it!"

"Knock him out!"

"No..." Samuels panted before screaming again.

Daniel had assumed that the man had been referring to Samuels when he'd said 'knock him out'. However when he felt another needle sink into his flesh there was a warm wash of euphoria before everything faded.

Waking up an undetermined time later Daniel groaned. There were points in his stomach, chest, throat, wrists, ankles, and temples that were nagging at him in pain, however it was his hip that demanded the most attention. Free of restraints Daniel gingerly pressed his hand against the spot. He jerked his hand away and yelped as the pain flared at him angrily.

Slowly opening his eyes Daniel was greeted by the glare off the round glass prison walls. He forced himself to sit up and leaned his back against the glass. Tilting his head back Daniel took a few slow breaths in an attempt to ignore the battered state his body was in.

"Daniel?"

Daniel barely heard the soft voice that had called his name. He brought his stare down from the celling and looked beyond the glass on the far side of the enclosure. Although he'd been without his glasses for sometime now he felt that he recognized the slightly out of focus man.

"Adrien." Daniel smiled. "Samuels is h..."

"Don't worry, I'm not going to let him touch you again."

"I was going to ask if he's okay."

"What?" Ricter asked in surprise.

"I heard him screaming. Or was that a delusion?"

"No." Ricter replied. "No, it wasn't a delusion, but he's fine now."

Daniel nodded and closed his eyes as sleep threatened to overtake him again. Ricter circled around to Daniel's side and sat down on the floor. Hearing that the doctor had moved closer Daniel roused himself enough to turn around to look at him. Ricter was looking at him as if seeing him for the first time.

"Adrien?"

"Daniel, do you know what happened?"

"Samuels told me that you needed tissue samples."

"True." Ricter nodded. "I would have preferred having only taken one per session, however, that's not what I'm talking about. Do you know what happened to Samuels?"

"No."

Ricter searched Daniel's face, looking to see if he was being told the truth. When he saw that he was he nodded. He got to his feet and went to leave. Despite the resistance his body gave him Daniel got to his own feet as well and followed Ricter as best he could.

"Wait, Adrien. What happened?"

"I don't know."

"But you have a theory."

Ricter stopped and turned to face Daniel once again. He looked around like he was afraid of being caught. When he was sure that no one was around he tapped on a near by computer console. Daniel took an automatic step back as the glass slid up. Ricter stepped up to Daniel and spoke in a low tone. What Daniel didn't know was that having the glass up was the only way for them to have a conversation without it being recorded.

"Daniel...." Ricter paused "Daniel, it would seem that if anyone causes you pain you now have the ability to reflect it back on them."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know." Daniel apologized. "I won't do it again."

"Actually, I'd like to know if you can inflict pain when no one is harming you."

"What?"

"Try and cause me pain, right now."

"I don't think I can."

"Try."

"Adrien, I don't want to hurt you." Daniel insisted. "If I have the ability I'd rather not use it."

"Amazing."

"What is?"

"I've read so much about you, and yet I don't seem to know the first thing about you."

"The only thing you need to know is that all I want is to save my friends."

"Even at the cost of your own life?"

"I thought I already made that clear."

"I want to hear it again." Ricter replied.

"Fine. I would give my life to save them."

"Then I am going to do everything in my power to see that it doesn't come to that."

"Are you telling me that trying to preserve my life wasn't part of the original plan?" Daniel asked.

"Honestly, no."

"This isn't an Army Hospital, is it?"

"Far from it."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I find myself admiring you." Adrien replied instantly.

"Enough to tell me where I really am?"

"I can not."

"Why not?"

"Because to know the truth would be a death sentence and I already promised to try and get you out alive."

"I see." Daniel sighed.

"I will however tell you something far more important to you _**if **_you promise not to reveal it to anyone."

"I promise."

"Dr. Janet Frasier...she is alive and well."


	27. Chapter 27

NOTE: Before you ask: 'yes', there really was a government project called 'Stargate' started in 1970.

Chapter Twenty-seven

"Alright, George, please tell me that we are not in half as much trouble as I think we are."

"I wish I could." Hammond sighed.

"Damn. Okay, let's start with this Ricter character."

"Two days ago he was fully integrated into our database, into all of our security files, all our codes, knew every detail of SG-1 current condition, and wore a uniform that was perfect from the honors on his chest to the herringbone tie."

"Not something one just picks up on e-bay."

"No. He had a service record dating back to Basic Training, now he's gone. Erased."

"Erased is a good word for it." Hayes said. "He's gone to the point where there aren't even fragments of the record left in the redundant drives. I had the top IT people look into it already."

"It's like it never happened."

"No one person has the ability to tamper with the system that fully." Hayes stated rather than asked.

"Not officially." Hammond replied. "Sir, this isn't a simple 'hack'. It would take a full understanding of the system and complete access to it to pull something like this off. It's not all stored on one system either, there are safeguards, encryptions, layers of smoke and mirrors to get through. I have to jump through over a dozen hoops just to get in and _look_ at this information, let alone change it."

"What I'm hearing is that one person couldn't have done this, that it had to be an organization."

"That is my conclusion as well." Hammond nodded.

"NID?"

"Not unless they've bribed their way into some amazingly high places."

"What other organization would even begin to have the ability to do this?"

"None, that we know of. Not even CIA, and FBI working together could weasel this even if every person in both organizations were working towards the single minded purpose of over taking the military."

"George," Hayes said sternly "don't even attempt to suggest that there is an organization large enough to pull this off that we haven't even heard of. You put enough men on a team and one of them is going to leak. Even the Stargate has made it into the media more than once."

"What if they aren't men?" Hammond asked seriously.

"Aliens?"

"It's a possibility."

For a moment Hayes just stared at Hammond, as if waiting for his old friend to laugh and say 'just kidding'. However Hammond was not a 'just kidding' kind of man and this was no exception. The President swore a few choice words. He leaned back in the chair he was sitting in and stared up at the celling in Hammond's office. Sighing heavily he looked back at Hammond.

"Why now, George?"

"Sir?"

"If they are so deeply woven into our system, watching our every move, why have they decided to expose themselves like this now?"

"My only guess is that we finally had something they wanted."

"Jackson."

"He could be a powerful bioweapon."

"What better way to win a war then to have your enemy fighting amongst themselves." Hayes mused.

"Exactly." Hammond nodded. "Containment of that threat was the main reason given me for having Dr. Jackson removed from the SGC. With the incident we had with Colonel O'Neill 'you' told me that you didn't feel the SGC was secure enough, that there was a level of security clearance above me."

"General," Hayes said solemnly "I am not blaming you for letting Jackson go."

"I should have known better."

"After what happened with York..."

"There's a name I haven't thought about in a long time."

"Bullshit." Hayes smiled sadly. "You and I both thought of him the instant this happened."

"I did." Hammond admitted.

"You know even as President I can't find out what happened to that poor bastard."

"He was sucked into the original 'Stargate' Project never to be seen again, a victim of remote viewing hysteria. Strip of his citizenship just like Dr. Jackson, and whisked away under the highest of security. I fought that hard, but when it came down to it he was scientist not an Airman, and I didn't even have any channels to go through, other than you."

"And I almost lost everything trying to save him." Hayes recalled the memory. "If it taught me anything its that there is always a more secret program than the one you're working on. In this government it isn't enough for one hand not to know what the other is doing, there is always a foot turning a wheel somewhere."

"You don't think the CIA still has York, do you?"

"Sitting in a box somewhere remote viewing America's enemies to this day? If they do have him, then I want to know why the hell they haven't been able to predict our current situation or any of the other crazy shit going on in the world today. Might have been nice for them to have also given me a heads up on the whole 'Weapons of Mass Destruction' thing as well." Hayes grumbled and shook his head. "No, the CIA has a hard enough time finding their own ass with both hands, they don't have York. Besides his so called 'abilities' were on the verge of killing him the last time you and I saw him."

"True."

"He's dead, George. Whoever took Jackson is our main concern right now."

"Yes, Sir." Hammond nodded. "Where do we go from here?"

"I'm forming a task group of the most trusted, most technologically savvy people we have to run though every bit of our database to find the crack in the firewall. If there is so much as a freshman sitting in a dorm at MIT toying around with trying to ping our computers we're going to have Black Ops down his throat. Even if they are aliens they needed physical way into the database and we are going to find it. Although first things first, we're going to turn the NID inside out and upside down, then shake them hard to see if anything falls out of their pockets."

"Here's to hoping that it does, although I highly doubt it."

"Even if it doesn't, these men have tipped their hand, we'll find them."

"If we do find them, what about Dr. Jackson?"

"You read me like a book, don't you George?"

"Sometimes. What's going to happen to him if he's found?"

"Unless there is a cure in our hot little hands by then, I'm afraid I've already given orders to have him shot on sight."

"Henry..."

"I'm sorry, George, he's too much of a risk. We've already been shown that we are naked in the breeze here, our best security breached. He's fallen into the wrong hands once, we can't take even the slightest chance of making the same mistake twice."

"He's no more dangerous than Major Carter, and Colonel O'Neill, their condition in the wrong hands could wrack equal havoc."

"Which is why I have given the same orders for both of them if either one is seen taking so much as a step out of quarantine. I'm sorry, but if this is allowed to spread it could destroy civilization as we know it. Am I wrong?"

"No, Sir."

"Then my orders stand."


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter Twenty-eight

Jack woke trembling violent with his blood running as cold as ice. Swallowing hard he struggled to overcome the impending sense of death. When Sam, still sleeping in his arm, stirred in her dreams he jerked his head back and slammed it into the wall that he was leaning against. The flash of pain actually helped bring him back to his senses somewhat. His stomach was twisting painful as he sat on the floor. He held Sam closer, determined not to let any harm come to her.

Sam fluttered her eyes open and looked up at her guardian. Jack's dark eyes had gone into scanning mode as he searched one corner of the room to the other for any potential threat. Taking a deep breath Sam closed her eyes again and nestled down against Jack's chest. Something in the back of her mind was nagging at her that something wasn't right here, but she was in no mood to figure out what. All she cared about at the moment was the fact that she had someone close enough to be touched. Enjoying the physical contact she sighed in contentment.

"Carter?"

"Mmmm...yes, Sir?" Sam muttered.

"We need to get out of here."

"I disagree."

"I'm telling you, Carter, something's not right."

"I don't care."

"We're sitting ducks in this box, if we don't find a better place to hide we are going to get ourselves killed."

"I'll die happy." Sam chuckled as she nuzzled against him.

"Have you completely lost your mind?" Jack asked seriously.

"It is a distinct possibly."

Jack furrowed his brow in a mixture of confusion and an attempt to figure out what was happening. Having Sam with him took the edge off his maddening fear, but it didn't completely clear the fog that surrounded his thoughts. With his arms still around Sam he absent mindedly rubbed at his wrists. Jack looked up through the glass at the Airman standing on the far side. Jack narrowed his eyes into suspicious slits.

"You there, unlock that damn door...that's an order."

"I'm sorry, Sir, I can't do that."

"I gave you a direct order, Airman." Jack growled.

"I'm sorry, Sir."

"See, Carter? They've all turned on us."

"Airman?" Sam called.

"Yes, Ma'am."

"What are your orders?"

"To ensure that neither one of you harms the other or acts otherwise inappropriately." The Airman responded.

"Sounds like a harmless goal to me." Sam shrugged.

"Carter, he's not going to tell us the truth. I'm tell you, we've been locked up here just to see how long it takes for us to go insane."

"Don't be silly." Sam teased.

"You're already insane." Jack grumbled. "I hope whatever you have isn't contagious."

"It must be or I wouldn't be stuck in quarantine."

"Good point..."

"Sir? Ma'am?" The Airman spoke up. "May I suggest that you step through the shower?"

"You may not suggest anything, Traitor." Jack snapped.

"You're adorable when you're angry." Sam snickered. "And a hot shower does sound wonderful."

"I am not letting you out of my sight, Carter."

"Then I guess you'll have to join me."

Sam untangled herself from Jack's arm, but kept a hold on one of his hands with her own. Jack was reluctant to get to his feet, but Sam convinced him to get up. Once she stepped into the small bathroom she dropped his hand so that she could pull off her scrub shirt. Jack gasped sharply, closing his eyes and turning his face away. Once again he started compulsively rubbing at his wrists, a new nervous habit he seemed to have picked up.

"Carter, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"Me? Nothing." Sam smiled. "What's wrong with you?"

"Me? I'm not the one pulling my shirt off."

"Well maybe you should."

"Just take your shower and then we are breaking out of here and finding out what the hell is going on."

"Whatever, Sir."

Sam pulled off the rest of her clothing. She looked over her shoulder to see if Jack was peeking, but he was being a perfect gentleman with his eyes welded shut and his head turned to the side. Sam chuckled and reached into the shower to turn on the water. There was no glass or curtain to the shower to keep anyone in quarantine from turning them into a weapon or means of suicide.

Stepping into the warm shower it only took about thirty seconds for Sam to come to her senses. She didn't recall at first that she had spent the night in Jack's lap, the memories of it could easily have been a dream. However the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach told her that the recent vivid memories were more than just a dream. Pressing herself into the corner of the shower she decided to test out her surroundings.

"Sir?" Sam asked nervously.

"Yes?"

"Oh god..." Sam groaned in horror.

"Carter, what's wrong?"

"I've been acting like a love sick teenager toward a Superior Officer, that's what's wrong." Sam flushed. "Can you...uh...hand me a towel?"

"Yeah."

Jack fumbled around for a towel with his eyes still closed. Sam reached out and snatched the towel away from him and hastily wrapped it around herself. Realizing that this still didn't solve the problem she stepped out far enough to grab a new set of scrubs. They were a little larger than the ones she'd been wearing, but right now that was the least of her concerns.

"You're up next, Sir." Sam said.

"No, I'm fine, really."

"Trust me, you're not. Get in."

Sam walked back out into the main room while Jack conceded to step through the shower. She sat down on the bed and hid her face in her hands for a few minutes. When Jack came out he kept as far from her as he could in the tiny room. Leaning up against the wall he stared at the floor while he ran his fingertips over his wrists.

"Who's hair brained idea was it to lock us up together?" Jack grumbled.

"Janet's."

"I should have known...she's always hated me."

"At least I'm not dying of thirst from crying all night." Sam forced a sad smile.

"And it was nice to spend at least one night out from under the bed." Jack admired begrudgingly. "Still, I think you should lea..."

Jack stopped cold as Sam's eyes suddenly lost their focus. A hint of a smile brushed her lips. She turned and looked towards the closed door. Worried Jack took a step closer.

"Carter?"

"Hello, Janet."

"Uh...Carter, Janet's not her..."

Jack was interrupted again as the door to the hallway opened and Janet stepped inside. Looking back at Sam he found that her eyes had regained the focus.

"How the hell did you do that?" Jack asked.

Sam just shrugged.

"Do what?" Janet asked as she stepped up to the glass.

"Carter knew you were going to step through that door seconds before you did."

"I don't know," Sam said "I just seem to know when people are near, this time I just knew it was Janet."

Jack looked over at Janet with a doubtful expression. When he did so there was suddenly a burning sting at his right index finger. Jack looked at his hand expecting to see a cut or something, but the skin was intact. Janet noticed Jack staring at his hand and looked at her own for a moment.

"Colonel," Janet said "is there something wrong?"

"My...uh...no, nothing, nothing's wrong."

"Are you sure?" Sam asked as she stepped up and took his hand to look at it.

"Just a little pain, it's nothing."

"Pain?" Janet asked. "Pain like from a paper cut?"

"Yeah, kinda like that."

"Interesting, when did it start?"

"I don't know, around the time you came in the room."

"I cut myself on Sam's medical chart just minutes before coming in here." Janet said and held up her right index finger to display a thin line of blood.

"So...what?" Jack asked. "Are you telling me I can sense other people's pain?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

"Great." Jack huffed.

"Any other pains?" Janet asked.

"Nothing serious. My back is unhappy about me sleeping on the floor." Jack shrugged.

"You've been rubbing at your wrists a lot." Sam pointed out.

"They've been sore the past few days."

"Sore how?" Janet asked.

"Sore like...like..." Jack searched for a way to describe it. "Like I've been wearing handcuffs that were too tight. Doc, Carter...just what were you two up to in Vegas?"

"Nothing like that I assure you." Janet replied instantly.

"Airman, how about you?" Jack asked. "How are your wrists?"

"Just fine, Sir."

"Well it has to be someone close by." Sam reasoned.

"Or someone close to him." Janet suggested.

"Daniel?" Jack asked.

"Just a thought." Janet said.

"That doesn't make any sense." Jack growled. "Daniel is probably hundreds of miles from here if he's even still alive. It's impossible."

"Impossible?" Janet raised a critical eyebrow. "This coming from a man who routinely steps through a metal ring and ends up light years away."

"That's just physics. Carter, explain it to her."

"Sir?"

"Never mind." Jack huffed. "Doc, don't give me any voodoo stuff, just please tell me some good news, any good news."

"Um...well...the President is here. He's making finding out who took Daniel the highest of priorities."

"That's good."

"Hopefully." Janet smiled sadly.

"Alright, well unless you have anything else to tell us I suggest you get Carter out of here. I don't think it's safe for us to be together like this particularly if we are going to start getting some wacky psychic stuff going on."

"I agree." Sam nodded.

"Unfortunately, neither one of you can come out of there."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked. "We're showered, nice and clean."

"I didn't know this but apparently the President has stepped up the quarantine order. Under no circumstances can you be allowed out, or anyone in until this solved."

"Is that why Teal'c is in the room across the hall?" Sam asked softly.

"I'm afraid so." Janet nodded. "He's been quarantined in case his condition escalates some how or spreads."

"Wait, what if I freak out and go after Carter?"

"We can turn on the emergency sprinklers, but other than that...there is nothing we can do."

Jack started pacing and swearing. Sam got up off the bed and went to comfort him but he jerked away from her. Sam looked to Janet, but there was no help her friend could offer her. Jack didn't seem like his fear was returning, he just looked angry.

"Doc, it would take all of thirty sec..." Jack stopped with a sharp gasp.

"Sir?"

Jack put his hand on his lower back and looked up at Sam in alarm. Before he could say anything he threw his hands around his stomach and doubled over in pain. Dropped to his knees he cried out again as the stabbing repeated itself higher on his chest. Sam fell to her knees next to him, unsure what to do.

"Sir?!"

"Stay back!" Jack gasped before clutching his throat.

"Janet!" Sam cried. "What do I do?"

"I don't know, I don't know what's happening."

"I'm okay..." Jack panted. "I'm alright, it's over."

"What happened?"

"It was just a lance of pain, it's gone now."

"Do you think it's Daniel?" Sam asked.

"I hope not." Jack sighed and looked up at Janet. "Doc, you don't really believe all of this, do you?"

"I don't know." Janet admitted. "I mean clearly Sam has some form of empathic sensory abilities now."

"Yeah, but that's for people within a few yards, Daniel's miles away."

"I don't think he is." Sam said.

"Carter?"

"I don't know, Sir, it just doesn't feel like he's very far away."

"Another 'feeling', Carter?"

"Just a vague one, I don't know, it could be wishful thinking."

Jack looked at Sam suspiciously, the familiar anxiety creeping back into his veins. Not in the mood to be shaking with fright Jack forced himself to his feet to take yet another shower. Two steps later a breathtaking pain dropped him back to the floor again. The twisting agony only escalated causing Jack to arch his back and screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Sir!"

Sam pressed down on Jack's chest to try and keep him from bending his back to the breaking point. Jack clawed at his lower back and hip as the pain intensified. Not knowing what else to do Sam simple did her best to hold him down. Janet paced at the glass feeling helpless. Jack was on the verge of tears when the pain abruptly ended.

Panting for breath Jack sat up and shook his head. Sam hovered over him like a mother hen. When he assured her that he was fine she threw her arms around his neck in a powerful bear hug. Jack started to push her away, but he decided to accept the affection feeling a little shaken after what had happened.

"Colonel?" Janet asked in concern. "What was that?"

"Remember when I got nailed to the Gateroom wall by that alien time capsule thing?"

"Vividly."

"It was like that."

"Where exactly?"

"Lower back, right over the hip...or rather right into the hip." Jack replied rubbing at the spot.

"Bone marrow." Janet muttered.

"Doc?"

"If you really are picking up on what Daniel is going through I'm willing to bet that whoever has him was after a bone marrow sample. It's the only reason I can think of for there to be bone pain in that area, it is the most common site for a marrow draw."

"We need to find him, they're killing him."

"If we find him before I can come up with a cure we're going to kill him. President has given orders to have him 'neutralized' as a threat."

"At least with us it will be quick."


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty-nine

"Samuels, I'm telling you there is something wrong with your imaging machine."

"Yeah, someone dumped a thousand gallons of water on it."

"Watch your tongue," Ricter snarled "I'm irate enough at you as it is."

"Why? I was just doing your job for you."

"I would have gotten the samples when I needed them."

"Of course, Sir, I was only trying to speed things up." Samuels replied with mock respect.

"Listen, I want this as much as you do." Ricter hissed.

Samuels looked around the empty room and narrowed his dark eyes. He stepped up and put his hand on Ricter's shoulder. Leaning in he placed his lips against Ricter's ear. The stench of antiseptic was heavy on his skin making Ricter want to pull away, but he didn't.

"Do you? Do you really?" Samuels whispered in Ricter's ear. "Sometimes I wonder, sometimes I think you enjoy it down here. Buried alive. I think you're satisfied with the life that's been chosen for you."

"Sam..."

"We can't take anymore of this back and forth with you. Personally I don't care if Daniel lives or dies, what I care about is getting what we need from him. Now...either you're with us or against us."

"This is a dangerous conversation," Ricter breathed nearly silently "you know where my loyalties lie."

"Do I?"

Ricter shoved Samuels' shoulder to push him away. The two men faced off like dogs squaring off for a fight. One of Samuels' men who had helped with Daniel stepped into the room, looking surprised to see the two men glaring at one another. Ricter straightened his back and forced a cold smile.

"Get this machine back up and running, Samuels, your readouts from the last time are rubbish."

"I'm telling you, they are not in error, the imaging was in _perfect_ working order."

"Then why don't they make any sense?"

"It's not my job to explain them...it's your's."

Ricter grit his teeth together in irritation. What he hated the most was that Samuels had a point, it was his job. Turning on his heels he stalked out of the room. He was going to go straight to his own office, but he decided to check on Daniel first.

Stepping into the lab Ricter found Daniel laying on his stomach with his head resting on his folded arms. The back of his shirt and pants were stained in blood from the marrow draw. His eyes were open, but they didn't appear to be seeing anything. It wasn't until Ricter stepped up to the glass that Daniel reacted.

"Good morning, Adrien, here to torture me again?"

"No."

"That's civil of you."

"I'm trying to help you."

"I'm trying to believe you."

Ricter furrowed his brow at the sudden iciness in Daniel's voice. Daniel took a moment to get to his feet. When he sat up he displayed the fact that the front of his shirt was also stained in blood from the three puncture wounds made the biopsy. He winced as he stood up, one hand held gingerly over his hip. Daniel took two steps forward and bumped into the glass. Looking surprised he took a step back and groped out in front of himself to find where the barrier was.

"Daniel?" Ricter asked in concern.

"Is it really dark in here?"

"No."

"Oh," Daniel smiled sadly "in that case I must be losing my sight."

"It's the high blood pressure pressing on the optic nerve. I'm afraid the rest of your organs aren't doing much better under the stress. If something can't be done your entire system is going to fail within the next week."

"Not a surprise. Thank you for trying to make this as psychologically easy for me as you could. I know you didn't have to do that."

Ricter was a little taken aback by Daniel's odd thank you and graceful acceptance of the devastating news. He studied Daniel for a moment and when Daniel realized he was under scrutiny he smiled. Taking a few steps back Daniel sat down. With his legs crossed in lotus he placed his hands lightly on his knees and stared forward into the gathering darkness. Ricter shifted his weight uncomfortably.

"Daniel, why do you trust me?"

"I don't."

"Wh...what?"

"I don't. Not anymore. At first your trick with General Hammond's voice had me fooled, and when I had been told that I killed Janet I lost my will to question things. In the beginning I was convinced that all of this," Daniel gestured around "was for my good."

"And now what do you think?"

"I think that I should have known better from the start, that my life doesn't mean this much to anyone." Daniel admitted. "I think I'm a lab rat, worse yet, a potential bioweapon."

"When did you start thinking that?"

"The moment you asked me to hurt you, to 'test' my abilities."

"Da..."

"I'm not going to allow it. I don't care who you are, I don't care who you work for. NID, CIA, Russian, Goa'uld, God Himself, it doesn't matter." Daniel growled. "The next person who touches me dies, even if it's you."

"Your anger is getting to you again."

"I'm counting on it. My only hope is that it kills me before you can learn to produce it on your own."

"Daniel, please, you don't understand."

"I think that I do."

"Da..."

"Damn, Adrien!" Daniel roared as he lept to his feet and slammed into the glass. "You don't know what you're doing! You think that you can control this, that you can use this sickness of mine somehow, but you can't! Unleash this and Pandora's Box will remain forever open. Even the creature who created this burned her own creation and home to the ground in an attempt to keep it contained!"

"Daniel, please, just hold on a little longer. Trust me."

"Why should I?!" Daniel cried angrily. "Why should I trust you?!"

"Because nothing here is as it seems."

"What is there to see?" Daniel spat. "I'm a prisoner, and you're free."

"You're only half right."

This reply caused Daniel to pause, however before he could ask any further questions the rage that he had been working on keeping pent up released. Having held back the tide as long as he could the reaction was far more violent than usual. Daniel threw himself at Adrien with a bitter cry. Clawing at the glass he screamed profanities in every language he knew.

Sighing heavily Ricter walked over to the console and tapped in the command that turned on the overhead sprinklers. Daniel seemed more enraged by the water at first. When he continued to throw his shoulder at the glass it became clear that he was doing it out of his own frustration at captivity. Ricter watched until Daniel was forced lay down from sheer exhaustion.

Without another word Ricter turned away and left. Heading for his own office he closed the door behind him, wishing it had a lock. He dragged his hands through his hair and growled in frustration of his own. Nothing was working the way they had planned. He rubbed at his stomach, trying to settle it.

Sitting down at his computer he pulled up the scans that Samuels had taken. The advanced MRI was showing a bright mass of activity where it was impossible for any neural action to be occurring. The image clearly displayed activity below the cerebral cortex in the white matter. The white matter was only meant to have glial cells, cells that simply maintained the 'thinking' part of the brain.

"I just can't believe that a sub cortical layer of gray matter has formed." Ricter mused to himself. "And yet...I'm looking at it."

Ricter skipped through the rest of the images. The amygdala over activity was what truly fascinated Ricter. He knew it produced the blinding rage when stimulated by the chemical Daniel was making. However, it was amygdala's appearance the was truly startling. It was no longer almond shaped, it had swollen to the point of being nearly a perfect sphere.

"That's the key..."

"Find something, Doctor?"

Ricter's heart nearly failed upon hearing the deep voice behind him. Flicking off the images he turned to visitor and tried to hide his fear. The man appeared young, in his mid twenties, however he gave off a confident air of one much older. He was leaning against the door frame with a lop sided grin on his arrogant face.

"H...hello, Sir."

"Is that how you address me?" The man asked with a threatening under tone.

"No, Sir. Sorry, Sir." Ricter got up out of his chair and held a perfect salute.

"At ease, Doc." The man chuckled. "You said something about a key?"

"Yes, Sir." Ricter admitted. "There appears to be some unusual cortical activity."

"Have you isolated the chemical yet?"

"Still working on it, Sir."

"I suggest you work harder."

"We are doing everything we can, Sir."

"I did see that some tissue samples were taken." He nodded.

"Yes, Sir."

"I noticed something a little odd happened during the procedure. Care to explain?"

"I can not, Sir. I do not understand it myself. Dr. Jackson somehow made a connection with Samuels."

"Clearly." He paused. "Come with me."

"Y...yes, Sir."

Ricter followed the young man as though being lead to his own death. When he noticed that they were heading towards the lab where Daniel was his heart started to pound. Inside the lab Daniel had fallen asleep, or possibly he'd passed out, it was impossible to tell which. The man walked up to the glass and knelt down.

"I've been watching you for a long time, Dr. Jackson, it is nice to finally see you in the flesh." He smiled and then looked over his shoulder at Ricter. "You've lost your objectiveness with him."

"No, Sir." Ricter denied.

"There is no sense in lying to me." The man replied calmly. "I've been listening in on your conversations with Dr. Jackson. You have gone to unusual lengths to make him feel welcome here."

"We need his cooperation, Sir."

"So you keep saying." He said as he turned back to look at Daniel. "You also threw quite the fit when you discovered what Samuels did. Not to mention you attempted to lift his spirits with news about those he left behind."

"He's on the verge of a total body collapse, the stronger his will to live the longer he will live and the more time we'll have."

"That does make logical sense." He returned coolly. "However, your loyalty is still in question."

"My loyalty, Sir?"

"Yes. However, I'm going to give you a chance to prove yourself. Bring up the seventh protocol."

"Seven? Sir, that could kill him."

"I believe I made a request."

"He might have the ability to reflect any pain back onto us."

"Do it."

"Yes, Sir."

Ricter knew that the next few minutes were going to be life and death for him and probably for Daniel as well. Removing all emotion from his face Ricter put his hands over the keyboard and started typing. The computer asked him if he was sure he wanted to run the program he had selected and he struck the enter key with a decisive stroke.

Daniel woke with a violent gasp. He screamed as soon as he had enough air in his lungs to do so. Ricter watched passively as Daniel writhed in the agony caused by the program he had set into motion. Unable to escape or even understand the seemingly sourceless pain Daniel arched back and cried out repeatedly. He tried several times to get to his feet, but never got further than his knees before collapsing. Ricter wished that Daniel would just send the pain towards them so that he'd have a reason to turn it off, but he didn't even look like he was trying to.

Ricter made sure not to look away, not to flinch when Daniel's voice cut through the air. Even though the other man was watching Daniel Ricter knew that he was being watched as well. When his eye brightened with tears he bit down on his tongue as a distraction. Daniel broke into tears making it harder for Ricter to remain stone faced. With his hands clamped down over his ears Daniel continued to cry out through his tears. His cries of pain began to take on a pleading tone even though he was unable to form any words. Ricter glanced over at the heart monitor and noted that if this wasn't stopped in the next thirty seconds there was good chance Daniel's heart would fail.

"Alright," the man said quietly "that's enough."

"Sir, the program runs another five minutes."

"I know, but you can turn it off."

"Yes, Sir."

Ricter cursed internally as his fingers slipped on the keyboard, forcing him to re-type the abort code. Weakness was not something he wanted to be displaying at this moment in time. When the computer terminated its nefarious program Daniel was struggling for breath. Free of the pain he backed himself against the far side of the glass and curled up on his side. Shaking violently he kept in his own little world while attempting to recover. Ricter could see Daniel's lips moving as he muttered something to himself, but he couldn't hear the words.

"I'm sorry I doubted you, Doc. I want to know the mechanism behind how these 'Dragon Tears' work before he dies. I also think we should take a stab at getting the one we originally wanted."

"The SGC will be in full lock down by now."

"There may be other ways."

"Of course, Sir." Ricter paused. "If you need me to go there aga..."

"No. If I decide to make a move I'll send someone else. I need you here now."

"Yes, Sir."

"Carry on."

"Yes, Sir."

Ricter stayed motionless while the man left the lab. He wanted to go over and make sure that Daniel was alright, but he knew that he was being watched. There was a more important task at hand and there was no sense in getting himself killed before he could carry it out. Daniel moaned pitifully, but Ricter simply turned and walked away.

Making his way directly back to his office Ricter closed the door and sat back down at his computer. He spent five solid hours staring at the images and lab results that they had collected on Daniel so far. At this point he wasn't even really reading them, he just wanted to be sure that anyone watching him work would get bored.

When he felt it was as safe as he could make it Ricter started typing in a new program. When the dialogue box came up asking him if truly wanted to run it he hit the enter key before it could be read by even the fastest eye. The screen blinked out for a second before restoring itself once more.

Ricter kept up his previous work of hopelessly staring at the imaging that he still didn't really understand. Neuroscience was his specialty, but he was still at a loss with this one. Part of him was simply slipping into hopelessness. He had been fearing for days that their plot had already been discovered. It was looking as though there was no escape, not for himself, not for others, and certainly not for Daniel.

"There is nowhere to hide...York sees all."


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter Thirty

"It's alright, Carter, it's not your fault."

"It's still humiliating." Sam muttered.

"Hey, it's not like this is the first time you've forced a kiss on me." Jack chuckled.

"Yes it is!" Sam said defensively.

"Is not." Jack smiled. "Remember that bull worshiping planet that made us all go caveman."

"Oh...yeah. I don't really remember much about all of that."

"I thought you were going to kill me." Jack teased. "You almost smothered me."

A tiny smile slipped across Sam's lips. Jack smiled as well and shoved her playfully with his shoulder. Sam was forced to smile brightly.

"Feeling better?" Jack asked.

"Yes. Thank you."

"Anytime."

Sam blinked away her tears. The pair were sitting on the small bed in the quarantine room. Their hair was still damp from their recent showers. Sam had woken up this morning a little more insistent about her affections than normal. Jack had been able to defend his honor long enough to push her into the shower. Sam reached over and gave him a warm hug.

"You're reacting faster than usual."

"No, that was me just being grateful." Sam smiled.

"Ah. Well, you're welcome."

"How...uh...how are you feeling?"

"You mean 'how is Daniel feeling'?" Jack corrected. "His back is killing me, and I think I'm going to claw the skin off my wrists just so they'll look as bad as they feel."

Jack settled into a stony silence or rather more of a brooding. Sam understood his frustration, she wasn't any happier about their captivity. It didn't help that they were being held 'prisoner' by their own people, while Daniel was godknowswhere. She could feel Jack's tension, his desire to do something other than just sit here and wait for answers to come.

Seeing if she could bring some answers of her own Sam closed her eyes and concentrated on her newly developed talent. Putting all of her thoughts into finding Daniel she took a deep breath. Sitting this close to Jack she had trouble singling out other heartbeats. Without an explanation she got up and sat down on the floor on the other side of the room.

"Carter?"

"Ssssh."

Jack gave Sam a questioning look but she couldn't see it. He watched her quietly, having figured out what she was trying to do. Sam often found that putting her hands on something helped strengthen whatever strange signal she was picking up. Since the floor was the closest thing she placed her palms down on it.

"I can't feel his heartbeat, but I can't help but feel that he's close."

"How close?"

"I don't know." Sam sighed, her eyes still closed. "Maybe it's nothi...wait, I think..."

Any thoughts that Sam might have were instantly destroyed by Jack suddenly crying out in pain. Sam jumped to her feet and rushed to his side. He had slipped off the edge of the bed and fallen to the floor. Contorted into an unnatural position Jack clawed at the floor and screamed again. Desperate to do something Sam sat on his stomach to hold him down and carded her fingers into his short hair.

"Sir, listen to me, please. This isn't your pain, you can block this."

Sam's words didn't help, he didn't even seem to hear her. Jack's eyes rolled back to white as he convulsed under her. There was nothing to do but wait it out and pray that whatever it was didn't kill him or Daniel. Tears slipped down Sam's face as Jack's cries turned to a keen wail. The intensity escalated to the point of bringing Jack to tears as well.

When his frame suddenly went slack Sam feared that his heart had failed. For a brief moment she couldn't feel the aura that his heart gave off. However within a heartbeat of her own his returned. Trembling violently Jack's lips started moving as though he were trying to speak. Sam leaned in closer but only caught the last few words.

Jack's eyes snapped back to their usual dark colour and he looked up at Sam in confusion. She was just about to ask him if he was okay when a look of panic struck Jack's face. Sam yelped as Jack reached up and grabbed her by the waist to lift her off his stomach. Getting to his feet with surprising speed Jack dashed off into the bathroom.

Sam listened to Jack being sick with her own stomach turning sympathetically. He retched noisily for a few minutes. Sam got to her feet slowly and joined him, taking a towel down off the shelf and getting it wet with cold water from the sink before offering it to him. Jack muttered a thank you and buried his face in the cool cloth.

Jack leaned his back against the wall and sighed heavily. Sam sat down in front of him and just waited for him to recover. Eventually he brought his eyes up out of the towel and looked at Sam. She forced a sad smile, but he didn't even attempt to return it. He was still shaking and didn't seem capable of controlling it.

"We've got to find him."

"Sir..."

"Carter, those bastards are torturing Daniel."

"More tests?"

"No, no." Jack closed his eyes and shook his head. "That was no medical procedure...that was torture."

Jack growled in frustration and raked his hands through his hair. Sam caught herself staring at him, entranced by the way his anger made his dark eyes glitter. Cursing under her breath she struggled to suppress the onslaught of emotion. She knew she could only fight for another few minutes. Sam was about to suggest a shower which reminded her of something else.

"Sir, right at the end of the attack you muttered something, do you remember?"

"No." Jack shook his head. "What did I say?"

"The only thing I caught was: '...water tastes like blood'."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"I don't know."

"I can't imagine why I'd say something like that."

"Unless..." Sam paused in thought "unless, maybe it wasn't 'you' saying it."

"Daniel?"

"I think so." Sam nodded. "I think he knows or maybe just hopes that there is a connection and he was trying to tell us where he is."

"Where?"

"He's here, he's right here in this mountain." Sam insisted. "Don't ask me how, I don't know. Rooms we don't know about, levels even deeper than this one..."

"Carter that's insane. There is no way that we don't know every inch of this mountain."

"Daniel is here."

"What makes you so sure?"

"The SGC has it's own water supply, and it tastes like metal, like iron..."

"...like blood."


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter Thirty-one

"I demand release."

"Teal'c..." Janet sighed.

"I must return to the planet in search of a cure."

"You know I can't let you out of there."

"I have been informed of the reason behind Colonel O'Neill's cries, I must do something." Teal'c insisted. "I am not a contamination threat, release me."

"I wish it was that simple."

"Where is General Hammond? I wish to speak to him."

"He's getting his first moment's sleep in nearly two days. Please let him rest."

"Very well," Teal'c nodded. "I will speak with him upon waking."

"He will tell you the same thing I'm telling you."

"That is unacceptable."

"Trust me, Teal'c, we are doing everything we can to get Daniel back." Janet sighed.

"You are lying. Daniel Jackson is to be shot on sight without a cure."

"For a man stuck in a room, you seem to know a lot about what's going on around here."

"Indeed."

Janet was just about to ask who was giving him his information when there was a hesitant knock at the door. The knock was quickly followed by Turner. When she saw Janet she flushed and went to back away. Janet beckoned her to come in, suddenly understanding how Teal'c kept so up to date on events.

"It's alright, Captain," Janet smiled "I need to go anyway."

"Doctor Frasier," Teal'c said sternly "I still wish to speak to General Hammond."

"Understood, Teal'c."

Feeling heavy hearted Janet left the quarantine room. Stepping across the hall she let herself into the room where Jack and Sam were being held. The Airman standing guard gave her a respectful nod. Walking up to the glass Janet watched the pair sleeping. Curled up against Jack Sam looked content, in contrast even in his sleep Jack trembled. Janet turned her attention to the monitors.

"At least you two are stabilizing each other...somewhat." Janet muttered to herself.

Janet knew that she had bought some time for these two. It was Daniel who worried her the most right now. Even under the best of care he would have been close to organ failure by now if his blood pressure continued on the path it had been on. Part of her wanted to believe that he'd be cared for, that he was worth far more alive than dead. However the way Jack had been screaming lately told her a different story.

Jack had proven several times now that it wasn't just Daniel's pain that he was receptive to. He now knew when anyone on the Base injured themselves. Jack had even picked up on Hammond's headache. Unlike Sam's relatively harmless ability this particular extra sense was taking its toll on Jack.

Knowing that the only way she could help them was to figure this out Janet left for her office. Once at her desk Janet found herself just staring blankly at the screen of her computer. She was exhausted and although she had forced the General to get some rest under doctor's orders she had done nothing to ensure her own health.

Feeling dizzy and sick to her stomach from over working herself Janet decided to give in for an hour or so. She stepped out into the infirmary and dragged on of the wheeled hospital beds into her office. Closing her door she curled up on the bed and in the space between two breaths she was asleep.

Janet jerked awake and instantly looked down at her watch. She swore to herself, she had slept for nearly six hours. Rubbing the remaining sleep out of her eyes Janet forced herself to sit up. Stumbling over to the door she hunted out the coffee pot in the infirmary.

With a cup of hot black coffee in hand Janet made her way back to her computer. Sitting down she gave the mouse a gentle push to get the screen saver to turn off. Janet furrowed her brow as she stared at her nearly blank screen. The usual desktop had been replaced by a black screen with small green lettering at the top with a blinking bar at the end.

"Two minds are better than one." Janet read out loud. "Press 'any' key to continue..."

Wondering if she was still asleep Janet glanced over at the bed she'd pulled into the room. When she didn't see herself lying there she decided that she must be awake. The fact that this made no real sense didn't occur to her in her current state of mind.

Not knowing what else to do Janet reached out and tapped the space bar. The images that suddenly jumped to life on her screen literally caused her jaw to drop. The coffee mug fell out of her hand and crashed nosily to the floor. Her eyes tracked back and forth as more information poured on to her desk top.

When her computer was done acting with a mind of its own Janet spent a full minute just staring at it. Shaking her head she snapped herself back to reality. Grabbing for the phone she instantly rang General Hammond's office. He answered with a weary voice, but Janet didn't have time to worry about that. She needed him in her office immediately. A few minutes later he was there.

"Please tell me you have good news, Doc." Hammond said as he walked in.

"I'm not really sure what I have, Sir. These amazing images just appeared on my computer. Some sort of MRI, EEG, and biopsy results. I've never seen anything like them, they're practically art. Whoever has Daniel wanted me to see this."

"Whoa, wait...Daniel?"

"Yes. Nothing is labeled, but this is Daniel."

"How can you be so sure it's him."

"This white scar here," Janet tapped the screen "that's from the seizure he had while going through the sarcophagus withdrawal."

"You certainly know your patient's inside and out, don't you?"

"Daniel's had so many MRIs I'm surprised he isn't magnetic. Besides, it's my job, Sir."

"And you are exceedingly good at it."

"Thank you. Sir...this information, it's far more in depth than any modern equipment should be able to gather. It's a level of detail that I've never even imagined being able to see. It's almost as if I could read Daniel's very thoughts with this if I only knew the language."

"So, not only do these people have Daniel, all our codes, all our security information, they also have high technology...and access to our computers?"

"It looks that way, Sir."

"That will make the IT boys feel better." Hammond muttered.

"Sir?"

"The computer guys working on how this Ricter could be erased from the database say that it simply couldn't be done, that the only way to leave absolutely no trace involves a procedure so complicated that it's out of the realm of reality. They said it was more likely that my computer had been hacked and I was looking at some other database. I'll have them come down and take a look at your com..."

"No!" Janet cried in panic.

"Janet?"

"Sir, I don't want anyone to touch this. In fact I need to be making back up copies right now. This could be the key, I might be able to figure out a treatment with this."

"A treatment? This doesn't make any sense, why would the men who took Daniel want to share this with you?"

"I don't know...but I'm glad they did."


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter Thirty-two

"We need to push him harder this time."

"Samuels..."

"I don't want to hear it, you know how much is at stake here."

"I do."

"Then do it."

Ricter nodded. He looked up through the glass that divided them from Daniel. Samuels had fixed the imaging machine and Ricter had felt that they needed to take the images again. The first set needed to be confirmed since they were so unusual. This time they had secured Daniel down enough to make sure that he wouldn't be able to free himself again.

Daniel had threatened to inflict pain on anyone who touched him. However it had turned out to be a bluff. From the fight Daniel had put up Ricter was now convinced that he could only reflect pain when someone was hurting him. On the table in the next room Daniel was spasmodically clenching his fists and curling his toes, the only motions he was free to make.

"The images are coming in," Samuels announced "they are just like before."

"Amazing."

"I told you there was nothing wrong with the first scans."

"Focus in on the amygdala." Ricter instructed. "Look at the shape."

"Just like Delta's."

"Is the screen clear?"

"Yes."

'Delta' was one of the many names they had for York. They couldn't use his real name out loud without attracting the attention of the powerful remote viewer. The phrase 'screen clear' was a code for asking if York was sleeping. While asleep it was safer to talk, however sometimes York picked up on what was going on through his dreams.

Knowing that he and Samuels might be under York's watchful mind's eye Ricter turned his attention back to studying the ever changing images. The sub cortex aura was still showing up, but it still wasn't what interested Ricter the most. As time slipped past and Daniel became more angry the amygdala on the screen started to practically glow. In the next room Daniel had started roaring in fury, his voice muffled by the bite bar that he was chewing on.

"This isn't what I need." Ricter sighed.

"What do you need?"

"I have to see his mind while he's reflecting pain. He must use some sort of extrasensory ability when he does that. What I'm looking at now is just a chemical reaction. It's not the key we need."

"What makes you sure that his reflection is not chemical?"

"Your pain was too specific to be caused by a pheromone, from what you told me you were experiencing exactly what he felt. That must be extrasensory."

"Like remote viewing?"

"I don't know." Ricter said with frustration. "I need to see."

"I'll do it."

"What?"

"I'll make him reflect pain on me again, while he's under the scanner."

"Samu..."

"He already dislikes me, it probably won't take much."

"I think you'll be surprised, he is determined to keep us from learning anything."

"He's also insane with anger right now," Samuels pointed out "he's not thinking clearly."

"Alright...just don't do too much damage."

"Remember, I have to feel whatever he does."

"It's not the same."

Samuels looked through the glass at Daniel and nodded. For the first time Ricter could see just how weary Samuels truly was. Years of doing what he must, not necessarily what he wanted nor what was right, was taking their toll. It was a price they were all paying. Samuels climbed into a set of haz-mat gear to allow him to safely enter the room with Daniel.

This was as far as they had allowed Daniel's anger to escalate and there was no telling how dangerous he was. Ricter clicked through the images again, noting that the sub cortical activity stayed fairly constant, another finding that didn't make a hell of a lot of sense. Ricter brought his attention back to the glass when Samuels stepped into the room with Daniel.

Samuels hadn't brought anything into the room with him and at first Ricter was unsure how he was going to accomplish his mission. It quickly became clear when Samuels walked around the table took Daniel's left hand in his own. Ricter looked away as Samuels slowly bent Daniel's little finger back to nearly the point of breaking it.

Daniel made his protests about the treatment known, but he didn't seem to be making any moves to share his discomfort with Samuels. As Samuels kept the constant pressure on the delicate joint Daniel's free hand clawed desperately at the table. Ricter was just about to tell Samuels to stop when there was a sickening cracking sound.

Samuels howled in pain as he broke Daniel's finger. Ricter's stomach twisted painful, but at the same time his heart jumped. There had been a flash on the screen at the exact moment that Samuels had cried out. Ricter's full attention was suddenly directed towards the images. Rewinding to the frame where the change had occurred Ricter stared at the findings intently.

Ricter was so engrossed with what he was looking at that he didn't even notice Samuels turning off the imaging device. Samuels had two more men in haz-mat suits enter the room and had them remove Daniel. Ricter rotated the image he was looking at to view it from all angles to make sure he wasn't mistaken. Samuels in normal dress came back into the room rubbing at his left hand.

"Damn it that hurts." Samuels growled.

"I got it."

"You did?" Samuels asked excited.

"Yes." Ricter smiled. "I can't believe we didn't think of it before, the 'seat of the soul' as Descartes would say."

"The pineal gland?"

"Always though to have metaphysical properties...apparently it does."

"Can we use this?"

"I believe that we can." Ricter nodded. "It will take me a few days to fig..."

"You should probably go set Daniel's finger." Samuels suggested.

"Sharing another man's pain finally softening your heart?"

"I don't enjoy hurting him, I'm just not above it."

Ricter nodded thoughtfully. He turned to the screen and tapped the few keys it would take to send the information to his own computer. In his excitement he had all but forgotten the fact that he had sent the last set of scans to Janet. It was a risk he felt that now he shouldn't have taken, he didn't need her help anymore. Before he left he put his hand on Samuels' shoulder and put his lips against his ear.

"Freedom Samuels...I can taste it."

"I'm sorry I doubted your loyalty before." Samuels whispered in return.

"Stress affects us all."

"Is the sky as blue as I remember?"

"Bluer."

Feeling lighter hearted than he could ever remember Ricter had to keep himself from running down the hall. Before heading off to the lab he grabbed a few supplies that he would need. Stepping into the lab Ricter was instantly sobered.

With his hand held protectively to his chest Daniel was on his knees retching violently. Water from the recent downpour dripped from his hair and caused his clothing to cling tightly to his skin. Shivering with a combination of pain and hypothermia he was trying to set the broken bone himself. It looked like he'd already failed once and was preparing himself for another try.

"Daniel," Ricter called softly "Daniel, stop, I'll fix it."

"Stay away from me." Daniel growled. "I don't need your kind of help."

"Please, Daniel, you're just making it worse."

Daniel looked up through the glass and narrowed his eyes it icy slits. Ricter cried out and dropped the supplies he had brought as a stabbing pain lanced up his hand. Daniel used the pain free moment to carefully snap his bone back into place. Ricter was dropped to his knees as he experienced the setting himself. As quickly as it had come the pain was gone as Daniel took the burden back upon himself.

"I deserved that." Ricter said as he got back to his feet.

"Yes, you did. I distinctly recall you making a promise to me that Samuels was never going to touch me again."

"I'm sorry."

"I suppose it's not the first lie you've told me."

"Dani..."

"Unless there is some test you want to run on me against my will, go away."

"What I'd like is to give you a chance at a hot shower, and a few hours in a bed rather than a cold metal floor."

"And what do I have to do for you in return?" Daniel spat.

"Just let me put a splint on your hand."

Daniel looked ready to snarl a string of insults at Ricter. However after a brief battle with his temper he bowed his head in defeat. Sitting on the floor Daniel held out his hand in a silent request for help. Ricter's breath hissed over his teeth when he saw that the digit wasn't only broken, but dislocated as well.

Sliding up the glass Ricter stepped up to Daniel and knelt down in front of him. He took Daniel's hand gently and found that his skin was ice cold. Daniel shivered again, but it did little to help warm him. Ricter looked over the injury with a critical eye.

"You got the bone back in place, but the joint is still disconnected. If you want I'll take the pain while I put it back in place."

"No." Daniel sighed. "Just do it."

Ricter nodded and took a firm grip on the dislocated joint. Daniel cried out sharply as Ricter forced it back into place. Ricter had brought along a metal and foam splint that immobilized the finger at all three joints. Once it was in place Daniel pulled his hand away and stared at the floor.

"Okay, lets see about getting you warm." Ricter said gently. "Can you stand?"

Daniel answered by getting to his feet. Ricter suddenly realized that if Daniel wanted to kill him right now he probably could. Daniel was far more athletic than Ricter even in his weakened state. However like a tiger on a choke chain at his trainer's side Daniel kept his lethal force to himself.

"How is your eyesight?"

"Better."

"The medication I gave you probably won't keep your blood pressure under control for long."

"I don't think I have long to live...so it works out."

"Daniel..." Ricter paused knowing he couldn't finish the sentence. "...come with me."

Daniel nodded vacantly and obediently followed. Ricter decided that for the moment Daniel simply didn't have any fight left in him. It had been nearly forty-eight hours since he truly slept and they had let his anger spike to dangerous levels several times during that time.

Ricter stayed outside of the quarantine room as Daniel disappeared into the bathroom. The water ran for nearly half an hour before he stepped out, followed by a cloud of hot steam. Struggling to keep his eyes open Daniel stumbled over to the bed and laid down. Curling up on the soft surface Daniel closed his eyes and sighed heavily. Ricter watched him for a moment before turning to leave.

"Adrien?"

"Yes?" Ricter replied as he turned back around.

"Are my friends alive?"

"Yes."

"Are they here?"

"No."

Daniel seemed satisfied that he was hearing the truth. He nodded and within seconds his breathing had slowed in sleep. Ricter watched him for a few minutes. Daniel looked just as close to death as his most recent blood work revealed. Each breath appeared labored and if he suddenly stopped all together Ricter wouldn't be surprised. If anything he was amazed that Daniel had made it this far. Ricter sighed, feeling guilty for everything that had happened.

"It's almost over, Daniel...for all of us."

Hoping that Daniel would remain locked in sleep for at least a few hours Ricter went to head back to his office to study the new data and all its implications. Halfway there he was stopped by one of the main guards that prowled the underground halls.

"General York wishes to see you...now." The man growled.

"Thank you."

Ricter grit his teeth together every time someone referred to York as 'General'. It was a title he had given himself, not one he had earned. The pseudo-military lifestyle that York insisted upon was just another yoke to bear. Ricter looked down at his watch and was surprised to see that it was two in the morning.

They tried to keep a normal sleep-wake cycle going even without the sun. Ricter had called Samuels over to do the imagining with Daniel in the middle of the night in hopes that York wouldn't have been watching. Apparently York had been paying attention. Feeling anxious he swallowed hard and went to knock on York's office door.

"Come in." York called before Ricter had even touched the door.

There had been a time when York could only see things that were at least a mile away but no further than ten. Now he could see anywhere in the world, possibly even beyond. Ricter put on his best calm look and stepped into the office. Samuels was already inside, sitting in one of the two chairs that were in front of of York's large wooden desk.

"How is Dr. Jackson?" York asked conversationally.

"Sleeping."

"Good, have a seat."

Ricter sat down. He didn't dare glance at Samuels. He was trying to keep his heart from pounding against his ribs, but he could already feel the sweat gathering on his palms. York looked back and forth between the two men and smiled.

"Gentlemen, you two are by far my best and brightest."

"Thank you, Sir." Ricter and Samuels replied together.

"That being said, do you know why I've asked you in here at this ungodly hour?"

"I assume it is about our most recent findings with Dr. Jackson." Ricter responded.

"No." York shook his head. "No, I called you in here because I had a nightmare."

"A nightmare, Sir?" Samuels asked.

"Yes, in this nightmare there was a certain petite doctor looking over images that were not meant for her eyes."

Ricter did everything in his power not to react to this news. He had set up the program so that Janet would have exactly ten minutes to view the images before they vanished. She would find that any copies she tried to make all came out blank. Ricter's hope was that York couldn't look at all places at once and hopefully she would be able to get a glimpse without him ever knowing. Apparently that had failed.

"At first I thought it might have just been a dream." York mused. "However, she is trying even now to figure out what she saw. I thought to myself, there are only three people who would have the ability to share those images with her. Whoever did it must be in this room."

"Si..."

"It was me, Sir." Samuels interrupted.

Ricter looked over at Samuels in shock. York saw this as well, but he attributed it to Ricter being unable to believe that there was a traitor in their mists. Samuels looked completely unafraid and stared directly into York's eyes with almost a defiant glare. York's lips twitched in a smile.

"I see." York mused. "Care to explain yourself?"

"Dr. Jackson is fading fast, we need answers faster. Dr. Frasier is highly motivated to cure this and to do so she must first discover how it works. I felt it would be best to have her working for us as well."

"Why was I not informed?"

"I'm sorry, Sir. I...I haven't been sleeping much lately, a lapse in judgment."

"A costly one." York growled. He closed his eyes for a moment. "I see your son..."

"No," Samuels whispered in horror "wait...no, no please..."

"He has two children of his own now, girls, they look like twins." York continued. "And a beautiful wife, they even have a dog...how cliché."

Any composure and defiance that Samuels may have had instantly vanished. Upon hearing about his son the colour had drained from his skin. York opened his eyes and looked at Samuels expectantly.

"Please, Sir, the fault is not their's, it's mine." Samuels slipped out of his chair and dropped to his knees. Tears streaked down his face. "I am begging you, Sir, I will take any punishment, but please leave them out of this. Mercy, please, mercy. I was only trying to get you the answers you desire faster. I didn't tell you because I wanted the credit for solving this case."

"Sir, please" Ricter tried to aid Samuels "Samuels only did what he felt best. I was the one who put the idea in his head. He has followed your every order for nearly twenty years, besides I need his technical expertise if I'm every going to solve this puzzle with Daniel for you. Please don't do this."

York seemed to take Ricter's words under consideration. Samuels was shaking violently, his hands clasped together over his heart. As the tears continued to streak down his face Ricter couldn't help but notice how much he looked like someone praying to God for a favour. York clearly saw the parallel as well and enjoyed it. A slight smile touched his thin lips as he got to his feet.

"I can not allow this digression to go unpunished." York announced. "However, I will allow you to answer for it alone."

"Thank you, Sir." Samuels wept, truly grateful. "Thank you."

"Come with me. Ricter, you as well."

"Yes, Sir." The pair replied.

York walked past them, leaving his back facing the two men. Ricter made a point to lag behind to help Samuels to his feet. Samuels brushed away his tears and accepted Ricter's hand. Ricter flashed Samuels a 'why did you take the blame?' look.

_'We need you.'_ Samuels mouthed silently.

Ricter had to fight the sting of tears. As much as he argued and disagreed with Samuels he had to admire his bravery and willingness to sacrifice for the greater good. Samuels had no hesitation when it came to causing pain to get to his goal, and he had no hesitation in taking it in return.

Ricter looked up at York's back and wanted to just throw himself at the man turned god. Samuels saw the look in Ricter's eyes and shook his head slightly. Realizing that he was right Ricter simply went to follow York. Along the way he ordered two of the guards to follow.

Ricter had expected them to travel to the lab. He and Samuels both assumed that the punishment was going to be time spent under the effects of the program that Daniel had experienced the day before. However York lead them to the shower room. Once inside the titled roomed York turned and stared at Ricter even though he spoke to Samuels.

"Turn around, down on your knees, Samuels."

Samuels glanced around nervously but he complied with the unusual order. York silently ordered the others to step away. Ricter hesitated, but he took a few steps away. York sighed as if he didn't want to do whatever it was he had planed.

Stepping up behind Samuels York reached back and drew out a field knife that he kept in a sheath on his belt. Ricter gasped and automatically stepped forward. Samuels looked up at Ricter and shook his head very slightly. The motion could easily be mistaken for just trembling with fear, but Ricter knew that it was a warning not to interfere.

York didn't seem to notice the quick interaction between the two men. Ricter yelped in horrified shock as York buried the knife into Samuels' back to the hilt. Samuels arched back but with the steel through his lung he couldn't scream. The look of shock on his face degraded into one of pain as his system finally figured out what was happening.

Samuels jerked violently as blood seeped from his parted lips. York twisted the blade before ripping it back out. Collapsing to the floor Samuels clutched at his chest and gasped as blood filled his lungs. He started to shake as the blood loss and lack of oxygen became more devastating.

Trembling himself Ricter watched as Samuels went into hypovolemic shock. York stood back up as Samuels began to thrash with his last choked breaths. Leaving him to die on the floor like a slaughtered animal York wandered over to the sink and washed off the knife and his hands. Ricter watched helplessly as Samuels' finally eyes glazed over in death.

"You two." York called to the two guards who had watched without emotion.

"Yes, Sir?" They replied in unison.

"Clean this up."

"Yes, Sir."

Ricter was still frozen in shock, staring at Samuels. York walked up to him and threw his arm over his shoulder like they were old college buddies. The knife was still in his hand and Ricter couldn't help but wonder if he was next. York pressed his cheek against Ricter's and chuckled.

"You look surprised, Doctor." York mocked.

"I...I..."

"You should know by now that I don't take disloyalty lightly."


	33. Chapter 33

NOTE: I don't have time to read this, I just wrote it and spell checked, so sorry if it has some typos. Just enjoy the jist!! Off to work!

Chapter Thirty-three

Jack woke with a cold sweat clinging to his skin. Shivering uncontrollably he tried to just close his eyes and go back to sleep. An eerie prickly feeling spreading over his skin and into his blood made ignoring his condition impossible. Grinding his teeth together Jack told himself that his fear was unfounded. Remembering what Daniel and he had recently been through he realized that he had plenty to fear.

Untangling himself from Sam's possessive hold he got out of bed. Even in her sleep she had a need to be holding something so Jack offered her his pillow. Still sleeping Sam took the pillow and curled up around it. Nuzzling the cotton pillow she settled deeper into sleep.

Jack smiled sadly, he was just glad that she wasn't the one with the talent that he had developed. Feeling like he couldn't breath Jack turned to walk into the bathroom for a shower. The one major advantage to having Sam with him was that although the fear still took hold of him he was now able to keep his wits about him enough to know that a shower would wash some of that fear away.

Once in the bathroom Jack had to fight the urge to be sick. He didn't want to wake Sam so he forced his stomach under control. Crawling out of his scrubs Jack tossed them into the biohazard basket to be burned. He turned the shower on as hot as it would go and sat down on the shower floor under the steamy spray.

The water only managed to wash the edge off of Jack's fear. Daniel weighed too heavily on his mind for the water to cure him completely. No one believed Sam's theory that there were more levels to the mountain and that Daniel was still here. Jack had to admit that he didn't believe it either. The floors would have to have been constructed sometime after 1964 when the complex was excavated since the original plans, design, and budget don't even show a hint at further levels.

"Why build a super secret Base under a super secret Base?"

As much as Jack wanted to believe that they had a starting place for finding Daniel when he thought about it logically it didn't make sense. Feeling frustrated Jack leaned back against the tile wall, closing his eyes he tilted his head back so that the shower spray struck his face. Daniel had been sleeping, Jack could tell because his wrists didn't hurt, suddenly the familiar pain snaked around his wrists.

"Go back to sleep, Daniel." Jack muttered.

Daniel didn't go back to sleep and Jack began to rub at the illusionary sores. Closing his eyes Jack tried to try and connect with Daniel somehow in hopes of figuring out where his friend was. All concentrating did was bring an acute stab of fear into Jack's chest. Jack snapped his eyes open and shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Daniel, I can't share your fear as well as your pain, it's hard enough just knowing your suffering from both." Jack sighed.

Jack had been convinced that Daniel had simply woken during the night, as he often did, and that he would be asleep again soon. However a sudden spike in the pain around his wrists and ankles joined by a tight feeling across his chest told Jack that Daniel was being restrained again.

"Oh for cry'in out loud, it is the middle of the night...leave him alone!"

When the pain and now the panic only increased Jack found himself getting truly angry. Right now if he could get his hands on anyone responsible he'd tear them apart even if it meant sharing in their pain. Jack spent a while working on his anger, inventing new and creative way to murder whoever it was that was torturing Daniel. He was snapped out of his dark thoughts when a new agony started radiating up his arm from his finger.

"No," Jack growled "no, stop it! Goddamn it he doesn't deserve th..."

Jack was cut off as the delicate bone snapped. He jerked violently but managed to keep quiet. Tears streaming down his face Jack cradled his uninjured hand to chest and began to make violent promises that he knew he probably wasn't going to be able to keep. Knowing that it wasn't over Jack stayed under the spray of the shower, still determined not to wake Sam.

Trying to keep quiet Jack retrieved a wash cloth and chewed on it while Daniel attempted to set the bone himself. Jack briefly considered breaking his own finger to hopefully off set the phantom pain. Realizing that it would just make matters worse Jack waited patiently while the mangled joint was put back in place.

It wasn't until about five minutes after Daniel feel asleep that Jack felt it was safe to turn off the water. With Daniel unconscious his hand no longer throbbed with pain. Sighing heavily he got to his feet and dried off. After putting on a new pair of scrubs he opened the door to step out into the only other room in his suddenly small world.

The dim lights of the Base illuminated the room but at first Jack didn't see Sam. She certainly wasn't where he'd last left her. Looking around the far end of the bed he found her sitting on the floor. With her knees hugged tightly to her chest she cried quietly to herself. Jack reached over and pinched his own arm, praying to wake from the nightmare. With two feet firmly planted in reality Jack wasn't going anywhere.

"Carter?" Jack called softly.

Jolting with either fright or excitement Sam jerked her head up. Seeing Jack she scrambled to her feet and rushed at him. Jack tried putting up one hand to defend himself but Sam was quicker than that and before he knew what had happened she had her arms wrapped around him tightly. Jack stood as still as a statue as Sam cried against his chest.

"Miss me?" Jack asked in what he hoped was a lighthearted tone.

"I thought they'd taken you," Sam whimpered "just like Daniel."

"Didn't you hear the shower running?"

"I thought you were gone."

"You're not even close to being in your right mind, are you?" Jack sighed.

"Please don't leave me, I love you."

"Nope, not in your right mind at all." Jack shook his head sadly. "Alright, into the shower with you."

"No!" Sam cried in panic. "No, don't send me away!"

"Car..."

"Please, please," Sam begged as she held on to him tighter "I can't be alone, if you're going to leave me again, please, kill me before you go."

"Alright, alright, just calm down."

Sam wasn't capable of calming down this time. Despite her death grip on Jack she wept harder from the memory of the isolation. Jack closed his eyes against tears of his own and reached up to return the embrace she had him locked in. The contact seemed to help her and after a few minutes she was to the point where he felt he could guide her over to the shower.

It was awkward getting the shower turned on with Sam latched onto his chest, but Jack managed it. Once soaked in the spray Sam pushed Jack away and backed herself into the far corner of the small shower. She started to stutter some form of apology but Jack stopped her.

"Nothing happened." Jack assured her.

"I had a nightmare."

"I feel the same way."

"No, this was different, this was like I was there." Sam looked around, looking lost. "Never mind."

"Take your shower, then I want to to hear about it."

"Yes, Sir." Sam replied with an automatic nod.

Jack grabbed a new pair of dry scrubs to change into while he waited for Sam. He also pulled the sheets off the bed and replaced them. He feared eventually that the mattress itself was going to become so contaminated that he'd be unable to touch it without being affected. Sitting down on the bed he shuffled back so that he could lean his back against the wall. Sam came out and sat down next to him but didn't say anything.

"Tell me about this nightmare."

"It was about Daniel." Sam sighed. "He was sleeping on a metal grate, when he woke up I could still see the pattern pressed into the side of his face. He was angry, kept threatening to hurt the people around him, but he didn't."

"That sounds like Daniel."

"Yeah, just a generic nightmare." Sam shrugged.

"Tell me more."

"I'd rather not."

"We have to talk about something, I'm certainly not tired anymore." Jack admired. "What happened next?"

"It gets a little fuzzy, they held him down...no, strapped him down to a table that looked like it was made out of plastic, not metal." Sam recalled. "There were two men arguing, I don't know what about, but eventually one of them walked over to Daniel and...uh..."

"Carter?"

"It was just a dream."

"What happened?" Jack pressed.

"They broke his finger, like he was some deadbeat that owed them a gambling debt."

"Which hand?" Jack asked, trying to sound just casually interested.

"Um....left, I think it was his left. It was horrible."

"Yeah," Jack rubbed at his left hand ruefully "it was."

"Sir?"

"It wasn't a dream, Carter. It happened, like twenty minutes ago."

"Why? Why would they do that to him?" Sam asked as her eyes brightened with tears once again.

"I don't know, you're the Seer, I was hoping you could tell me."

"They didn't ask him any questions, not that he could have answered even if they had. It was as if it was the most convenient way to cause him pain...but I don't know the reason behind it. We have to find him."

"I'm open to suggestion."

"I already gave you my suggestion."

"The General looked into it, is probably still looking into it. But, Carter, do you really believe that there is one inch of this mountain we don't know about?"

"Yes." Sam replied confidently. "Daniel is he..."

Sam stopped as Jack suddenly stiffened. Arching his back he tried to cry out, but made sound. Fearing the worse Sam reached out and put her hand on his shoulder. Gasping sharply Sam's eyes lost their focus. Jack struggled to take a breath as an intense pain lanced through his lung. He couldn't breath and as the sensation grew stronger he panicked and clawed as his chest.

It was impossible for him to tell if he had just been shot through the back or stabbed. All he knew for certain was that this pain wasn't going to last much longer, he could feel the life slipping away. Jack's heart skipped a beat as the one shuddered to a stop. Able to breath again Jack panted for breath and once again struggled to keep from being sick. This time he failed and ended up dry heaving violently.

"Sir, it's alright, it's okay..."

"No, Carter, they kill him, they killed Daniel." Jack spat. "They shot him in the back like the goddamn cowards that they are."

"No, it wasn't Daniel."

"I felt it..."

"It was someone else."

"Who?"

"I don't know." Sam admitted.

"Then how do you know it wasn't Daniel?"

"I saw it happen. White tile shower room floor, blood everywhere...it was like looking through their eyes. He looked down, but his hands weren't Daniel's, they were much older. There were three men that I could see, two didn't care...one was absolutely horrified. He looked familiar, maybe from the dream..."

"Carter, slow down. You're babbling."

"Your hand, did it hurt when it was happening?"

"Um..." Jack thought about it. "No."

"Then it couldn't have been Daniel. Right?"

Jack nodded, still shaken by sharing in Samuels' death. Sam got up and started pacing around. Jack could see her playing the events she felt she saw over and over in her head, trying to make sense of them. Eventually she stopped and tapped on the glass to get the Airman's attention.

"Yes, Ma'am?"

"I want to see Janet."

"It's three in the morning, Ma'am."

"I know she's here, and I know she's awake, go get her. Tell her to bring a surveillance picture of the men who took Dr. Jackson."

"Yes, Ma'am."

The Airman turned to the phone on the wall and dialed up to Janet's office. It wasn't more than five minutes before Janet came downstairs. She had a printed out black and white grainy photo in her hands. Janet looked like she hadn't slept in days and she certainly hadn't changed out of her lab clothes in at least that long.

"Sam, Colonel, you two okay?"

"As okay as two developing psychics with toxic sweat can be." Jack shrugged.

"Janet, is that him?" Sam pointed at the photo.

"Yes, 'General Ricter'." Janet sighed and pressed the photo up against the glass.

"That's him." Sam said with hardly a glance. "That's the man I saw, but he wasn't dressed like a General, he looked more like a doctor."

"You....saw him?" Janet asked warily.

"Carter has been having 'visions'." Jack provided.

"Really?"

"Yes, first it happened in a dream, it's like I'm there, but not there all at the same time. I seem to see things when they are actually happening, in real time."

"Like remote viewing?" Janet asked.

"Yes, but I can't control it."

"Okay, do you think you saw anything that could help us get Daniel back?"

"No. Not yet. How is your search going?"

"Frustrating."

Janet told them all about the images she had seen and how ten minutes later they were just gone. She gave them her theories about what the images had meant but it didn't look like even she believed it. As far as she knew she was still standing right at square one with no where to go.

"This is all my fault." Jack sighed.

"What makes you say that?" Sam asked.

"I'm the one in command of the team, Carter, but I'm always letting Daniel talk me into things against my better judgment. He is always coming up with terrible ideas and I'm always listening to him."

"That's not true."

"Oh yes it is, 'Jack, one night in Bangkok, have some tea, it's full of antioxidants.'. 'Come on, Jack, let's listen to what these hostile alien have to say, maybe we can learn something from them. And my personal favorite 'Jack, it's just an artifact, what could be the harm in touching it and/or bringing it back to the SGC?'."

"Artifact..." Janet repeated and then suddenly her whole face lit up.

"Janet?"

"Colonel I could kiss you."

"Get in line." Jack grumbled.

"Seriously, Sir, I think you may have just figured this out. At least enough to work together a cure."

"What? How?"

"The MRI type image that I saw had this impossible activity on it in the sub cortex. At first I was thinking that maybe you were both developing neural connections in the white matter layer...which really doesn't make any sense. But now I'm thinking that it can't be there because it isn't there."

"Come again?"

"It's not really a picture of neural activity, it's something interfering with the MRI and the substance that interferes with an MRI more than anything else is metal. I think these Dragon Tears are metallic in base or use metal to attach to the glial cells to affect the brain. We could use chelation therapy to wash them out. It's a long shot, but metal in the tissue makes a hell of a lot more sense than sub cortex neural growth."

"I see." Jack said even though he didn't. "How did I figure that out?"

"Because when something that isn't there shows up on an MRI we call it an 'artifact'."


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter Thirty-four

"I thought doctors were supposed to help people."

"There was a time in my life when I was free to do so."

"Adrien, please, don't do this..."

"I have no choice."

Ricter carded his hands into Daniel's hair. The touch alone seemed enough to wrack him with some unseen systemic agony. Dropped to his knees Daniel didn't even try to escape Ricter's painful hold. Arching back he just cried out repetitively until his voice gave out on him. Ricter watched until the man in his hands was crying blood. Sickened he released Daniel, who instantly collapsed. Daniel tried to get to his knees once again, but he only had the strength to push himself up on his hands to look up at Ricter.

"Stop..."

"I'm sorry, Daniel. I can not stop this, York is too powerful."

"He's just a man, Adrien." Daniel whispered.

"No, he no man. He's a monster."

"And you're not?"

Ricter jolted awake, shivering from the nightmare. He looked around his small room as the overhead lights slowly got brighter with the artificial sunrise. Getting out of bed he walked over to the far wall. It was covered in a vast collection of small photographs.

Ricter reached up and traced his fingertips across a series of the photos that showed a young girl progressing through her years. He stopped on the last one that showed the girl, now a young woman, sitting in a beautiful park with a newborn held lovingly in her arms. He traced the copy of the birth certificate hanging next to the picture.

"'Adrien Ricter DeLane'." Ricter read with a sad smile. "I love you, I love you both."

Ricter closed his eyes as tears streaked his face. He knew his daughter had named her son after the father she never knew because she believed that he had died a hero. He swallowed against a bitter taste knowing that his grandson had been given the name of a coward.

He glanced at the other photos, wondering how his family had grown so large. His brothers had all been married and now their children were also starting to have children of their own. Ricter touched a photo of a woman a little younger than himself in the arms of a man he didn't know.

"I'm glad you found someone else, Ella, I hope he makes you happy."

They were all living a life of luxury, supplied by a large trust fund that none of them even suspected the origins of. Ricter wondered sometimes how they would react if they knew how much blood the money they spent was soaked in. Would they welcome him back if it meant their means to an easy life would vanish?

Ricter jumped as the phone on his bedside table rang shrilly. Brushing away his tears and his thoughts Ricter walked over to pick up the phone. He knew exactly who it was, only one person ever called.

"Yes, Sir?"

"It would seem that Samuels may have had worth after all."

"Sir?"

"Dr. Frasier came to an interesting conclusion last night. Come to my office."

"Yes, Sir."

Knowing that York wouldn't accept seeing him in anything other than perfect uniform Ricter went over to his closet and changed. Slipping on the white lab coat Ricter paused and looked at the cuff closely. He could have sworn that he'd caught site of a blood stain, but upon closer inspection it proved to be clean.

Shaking his head Ricter went directly to York's office. The self proclaimed General was sitting behind the large mahogany desk busying himself with some pointless paperwork. Ricter walked up to his desk and waited to be recognized. York continued whatever it was he was working of for a few more minutes before looking up and smiling.

"Ah, Doctor, have a seat."

"Thank you, Sir."

"You had mentioned something about Jackson's images showing results you couldn't understand."

"Yes, Sir, sub cortex activity."

"What would you say if I told you that images were lying?" York asked cryptically.

"Lying?" Ricter repeated with his heart suddenly in his throat.

"Yes, a great deception."

"I don't understand."

"Dr. Frasier is under the belief that the activity is a false positive cause by metal in the nervous system."

Ricter gasped in realization. His mind instantly started processing this new information.

"I take it this was not something you had thought of?"

"No, Sir."

"Why not?"

"He shows no signs of metal poisoning. However, now that you say it out loud it makes sense. Whatever these Dragon Tears are they must require metal to bind with the glial cells to then cause a reaction in the cortex. The reason it took a full month for SG-1 to show symptoms was that the Tears were slowly collecting iron out of their blood. It also explains why Teal'c was not affected like the others."

"Explain."

"In the report by Dr. Frasier Teal'c had not been in blood contact with the Tears, it was rubbed on the skin and therefore never got a chance to react to the iron in his blood and start to strip it away. It is introduction of the substance to the blood that causes this violent reaction and forces the body in producing large quantities of the pheromones which are then excreted out of the skin."

"Can you use this information to get me what I want?"

Ricter paused, thinking about what to say next very carefully. York watched him eagerly, desperate to have the answer he wanted to hear. Ricter took a deep breath and made a terrible decision.

"Yes." Ricter whispered.

"Yes?"

"Yes, I can do it."

"Excellent." York crowed. "We'll need someone to test it on. Not that I don't trust you, but I want to see it work before I try it myself."

"How..." Ricter stopped and tried to force back his fear. "Why not use Dr. Jackson?"

"He's already infected. In fact, we don't really need him anymore, do we? Leave him without access to water and see how far he'll go with his anger."

"I can tell you right now that it would simply kill him and we'd learn nothing."

"What are you suggesting?"

"Let me cure him."

"Cure him?" York asked suspiciously.

"I can do it now, I'm betting an IV of deferoxamine mesylate will wash the Dragon Tears out of his system and he'll stop producing the pheromone. We could then use him to test out the new formula. If you are going to kill him anyway, he might as well be useful."

"Okay, do it." York nodded. "It will save me the time and the expense of gathering a new test subject."

Ricter nodded, his heart beating so hard that he feared York was going to hear it. He had a plan, but as of right now he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to find the courage to carry it out. Even if he couldn't at least this way he could give Daniel a few hours of comfort before death. Ricter stood up and went to leave.

"I didn't dismiss you." York growled.

"My apologies, Sir, I thought you wished me to get to work right away."

"Yes, of course, but I want to make something clear before you go." York said icily. "I know you made a promise to Jackson to help him get out of this alive, but you must have known even then that I would never allow such a thing."

"I knew." Ricter nodded.

"Good. How long till we can get results?"

"Perhaps as soon as twelve hours."

"I want an autopsy report for Jackson on my desk in twenty-four hours."

"Autopsy?"

"Like you said 'we might as well learn something from him'."

"Yes, Sir. I have some sodium pent..."

"No." York shook his head. "No, I don't want you using anything that might show up on tests. Put him in an ice bath, that should do the trick."

"Hypothermia?" Ricter asked in horror.

"Right."

"Sir, that's..." Ricter shifted his weight uncomfortably "Sir, that's a horrible way to die."

"What do you mean? No chemicals, no tissue damage, nothing to skew an autopsy report. It's perfect."

"At let me anesthetize him first."

"No, no chemicals." York said firmly.

"It won't aff..."

"I said no," York growled "don't make me repeat myself again."

Ricter bowed his head submissively.

"Good." York smiled. "Now then, I believe you have work to do, and don't think for one second that I'm not watching you like a hawk."

"Yes, Sir."


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter Thirty-five

"Okay, Teal'c try and make me laugh."

Teal'c raised an eyebrow at Janet and she broke into a smile.

"Your cure does not appear to work." Teal'c grumbled.

"I'm sorry, Teal'c, that was my fault. Try it again, try and make me laugh the way you did before."

Teal'c put on an even more serious face. Concentrating hard he reached out and brushed Janet's cheek. She was able to keep a straight face this time around. Teal'c tried again and Janet still remained quiet.

"I think it worked." Janet beamed.

"Indeed. Am I free to leave?"

"Not yet. We need to make sure it is going to last. Twenty-four hours should be enough."

"Daniel Jackson may not have twenty-four hours to live, I wish to endeavor to locate him."

"I'm sorry, Teal'c, it's not up to me."

A flash of irritation spread across Teal'c face however he bowed and sat back down on the bed. Janet put her hand on his shoulder and forced a reassuring smile. Teal'c looked up at her and graced her with a rare smile of his own. Feeling honoured Janet tapped on the glass to be let out.

Stepping across the hall she found Jack was pacing back and forth at the glass like a hungry lion in a zoo. Sam was sitting on the bed with her back against the wall, slowly destroying the hem of her shirt out of nervous boredom. Sensing Janet's approach Sam looked up and joined Jack at the glass.

"Well?" Jack asked impatiently.

"I think it works." Janet reported.

"Really?"

"At least it worked on Teal'c, of course he didn't have nearly the level of exposure that you two had."

"At least it's a start," Jack beamed "let's do it."

"Sam?" Janet asked concerned.

Sam had taken a step back and was looking conflicted about the prospect of a cure. Jack turned and gave her a 'what?' look. Sam smiled sadly and looked at Janet.

"I don't want a cure yet."

"Carter?" Jack asked shocked. "Why the hell not?"

"If Janet cures me I'll lose my already tenuous connection with Daniel. These visions I've been having are our only chance of finding him."

"Cart..."

"You go ahead, Sir, you shouldn't have to keep feeling everyone's pain. However, I'm staying."

"Sam," Janet said softly "I can't come in there if I don't neutralize you both, the General will never allow it."

"Where is he?" Jack asked.

"Pulling some strings."

"Ah."

"Janet, please," Sam said "if I can learn to control my viewing I can find him, I know I can."

"Carter, no." Jack said firmly.

"Sir?"

"I'm sorry, I can't allow you to postpone treatment."

"Dan..."

"Daniel can't be helped right now, you can." Jack interrupted.

"We can't give up on him like this."

"I don't like this decision anymore than you do, however, you are my responsibility." Jack said seriously. "I'm still not convinced he's even alive, my hand hasn't been painful since it happened."

"He's alive, I can still feel it." Sam took a step closer. "Please, twenty-four more hours, give me one more day to find him. It could be his last chance."

"Carter, don't make this any harder for me than it already is." Jack said in defeat. "I fully understand what is at stake for Daniel here, but your condition is getting worse with each passing hour. What if we get to a point where it can't be reversed?"

"Sam, Colonel O'Neill is right, and even though I haven't been mentioning this to you two the Colonel's health is still in serious jeopardy. The strain of his fear and this new phantom pain is pushing his system to its limit. For this treatment to work his kidneys need to be in good working order, another day and they might not be up to the task."

"What if we've already missed the window?" Sam asked.

"Then I'm going to be locked in their with you." Janet replied. "I can not leave unless the quarantine threat is over."

"Carter, I can't risk three lives for a slight chance of finding Daniel. Please understand."

"I do."

"I'm not giving up on him." Jack assured. "I am going to find him, or at the very least find the men responsible."

Sam nodded sadly. Jack motioned for Janet to come inside. She had a large bag with her that held all of the supplies she would need. If the treatment was a simple injection she would have allowed the pair to treat one another. However the chelation required an IV to work properly, and since she was given them a higher dose than normal she wanted to be in the room to monitor.

"I gotta tell ya, Doc, this has better work." Jack huffed. "It's already crowded in here as it is."

"Two's company, three's a crowd?"

"Something like that, plus you can be affected by both of us."

"I have to admit that the air in here is actually getting to me a little." Janet forced a nervous smile. "Okay, let's get started. This is going to take a few hours so I suggest you lay dow..."

Janet stopped as Jack's breath suddenly hissed across his teeth. He held his left hand to his chest protectively. Knowing what was happening Sam reached out and touched his hand. She closed her eyes and poured her concentration into seeing.

"Daniel's in a room that repeats itself." Sam muttered.

"Repeats itself?"

"The far wall of the room must be a mirror, a one-way mirror."

"What is he doing?" Jack asked.

"Nothing." Sam replied sadly. "He's just staring at the wall, he looks..."

Sam didn't finish. She pulled away from Jack and opened her eyes. Keeping her gaze on the floor she blinked away tears. Jack reached out to touch her, but she pulled away, not wanting to connect with the vision again.

"Carter?"

"He looks broken."

"I'm sor..."

"No, Sir." Sam shook her head. "No, don't be sorry. You're right, these visions are pointless. There is nothing that I am going to be able to see that is going to tell me where he is."

"Come on, the best thing we can do for Daniel is get the hell out of this glass box."

Sam nodded. Janet took Sam's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. She lead the pair over to the bed and asked them to get comfortable. They both decided to sit with their backs against the wall. Janet took a hook out that attached to the top of the bathroom door frame and hung two IV bags from it. Jack winched as Janet sunk a needle into Sam's arm. He took his own needle with a little more grace.

"How long is this going to take?" Jack asked.

"With you two I'm guessing four to six hours."

"We're going to need showers."

"The IV can get wet."

"So...hurry up and wait?"

"I'm afraid so, Sir."

Feeling tired from the previous night Jack closed his eyes. Every twenty minutes Janet suggested that they step through the shower to keep her own exposure to a minimum. As the drugs dripped into Jack system he slowly felt the pain in his hand and wrists begin to fade. Part of him tried to hold on to the pain, at least it gave him the knowledge that Daniel was still alive. After five long hours of waiting Jack heard Sam sigh heavily.

"Carter?"

"It's gone." Sam sighed. "I can't even sense Janet across the room."

"I'm sorry, Sam," Janet said "but at the same time it means that it's working."

"I know, and I can't thank you enough for everything you've done to fix us."

"Anytime."

After another hour the IV bags were finally empty. Free of the needle in his arm Jack wandered back into the bathroom. Janet sat down next to Sam and gave her a comforting hug. Sam forced a smile, but still looked heavy hearted.

"You okay, Sam?"

"I feel very alone."

"A shower..."

"No, it's not like that. It's the loss of that extra sense, it was somehow very comforting to be able to feel the heartbeats of everyone on the base. I'll be okay."

"Uh...Doc?" Jack called as he stuck his head out of the bathroom. "I don't mean to alarm anyone, but I seem to be urinating blood."

"It's not blood, Sir, it's the extra iron. It's a good sign."

"Ah, excellent." Jack looked at Sam. "Carter? You doing okay?"

"I'm fine, Sir."

Jack didn't look convinced however he ducked back into the bathroom to take another shower. Sam followed after him. With clean clothing they pulled the sheets off the bed and changed them. The next test was to wait an hour and see if anyone fell in love or tried to hide under the bed.

While they were waiting there was a commotion out in the hallway. Jack could hear General Hammond giving orders and what sounded like a piece of heavy equipment being moved around. The pair looked at Janet, but she was just as confused.

The Airman reached over and opened the door so they could see what was going on. Out in the hallway there was a large device that looked to Jack like a fancy floor buffer. It was connected with a bunch of wire to something out of view. He had no idea what it was. However upon seeing it Sam jumped to her feet with excitement.

General Hammond stepped past the device and came into the room. He looked at the trio and nodded in approval. Jack forced himself to his tired feet and walked up to the glass. He looked over Hammond's shoulder and then back at the General.

"How are you all feeling?" Hammond asked.

"Much better, Sir." Jack answered automatically. "Sir, what is that thing?"

"It's a GPR." Sam replied.

"Come again?"

"Ground Penetrating Radar." Sam clarified.

"That's right." Hammond smiled. "It wasn't easy getting one down here, or rather getting the technician who runs it clearance to come down here."

"I don't get it." Jack admitted. "What does it do?"

"It is going to tell us once and for all if there is anything or anyone under the SGC."


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter Thirty-six

Waking up in a foggy haze Daniel stared up at the featureless white ceiling. He couldn't remember a time when he felt this weary of both body and mind. He sat up only because it seemed like the thing to do when one was awake. Once up he stared vacantly at the far wall.

Daniel wasn't sure how long he spent gazing sightlessly at the blank white wall. It wasn't until he looked over at the mirror wall that he realized how pathetic he looked. Shaking his head he felt his blood pressure beginning to rise once again. Daniel felt that he was currently too exhausted to get truly angry, but he knew the warning signs and decided to do something about it.

Crawling into the shower Daniel sat down and let the hot spray strike the back of his neck. He looked down at his splinted hand and noted how discoloured the area of the break was, a deep angry purple. It hurt, but it didn't bother him. He spent a few minutes wondering why it didn't upset him that his hand was broken, but before he figured it out his thoughts wandered away.

After an hour in the shower Daniel still hadn't made any moves to get out. Leaning against the back wall he drifted in and out of sleep. He woke with a start when he felt someone wrapping a towel over him. Looking up Daniel saw that Ricter had turned off the water and was urging him out of the shower. In no mood to fight Daniel got up and wandered back to the bed to sit down.

"Daniel...I have a cure."

"Great, now when you unleash this on whoever you can keep your own people safe. Congratulations."

"No, I'm here to give it to you."

"You honestly expect me to believe that?"

"No." Ricter sighed. "However, here's the facts: I need to drip something into your blood over the next five to six hours, you can do it here in comfort with access to a warm shower and the ability to move about, or I can have you chained down to the metal floor in the lab and use the cold water to keep your anger under control."

"Gee...let me think about it." Daniel huffed.

"I'm sorry, Daniel."

"I don't want your goddamn pity." Daniel snarled. "Just do whatever it is your going to do to me. I know I can't stop you, more than that you know it too."

"You're right."

Daniel closed his eyes and turned away from Ricter. He made no motion to pull away when Ricter took a hold of his good hand. There was a brief sting of an IV needle sinking into a vein in the back of his hand. Ricter secured the needle with medical tape. He attached it to a thin tubing that ran up to a bag of clear liquid handing from a portable IV stand.

"Don't let your anger take over while we do this." Ricter instructed. "If you pull the needle out I'll have you tied down. Understand?"

Ignoring the question and Ricter himself Daniel stared at the floor. Ricter sighed and went to say something more, but he decided against it. Every twenty minutes for the next six hours Ricter returned and made sure Daniel spent some time in the shower. When the IV bag was finally empty Ricter pulled the needle out with a quick jerk.

"How do you feel?" Ricter asked.

"Does it matter?"

Ricter studied Daniel for a moment. He looked like he wanted to kill, but simply lacked the strength to even know where to begin. It was a look Ricter had seen before while staring into his own mirror. It was at the moment when he had realized that there was no escape.

"Daniel...Samuels is dead."

"What?"

"He was murdered." Ricter admitted. "I'm a prisoner here. My master is watching us right now."

"Through the mirror?"

"No. In his mind. He is a powerful remote viewer."

"I don't understand."

"He keeps a collection of scientists to help him explore his extra sensory perception as well as the abilities of others. We also develop new technology for him to sell, you wouldn't believe how many medical breakthroughs have come from these catacombs. The work that my fellow prisoners and I have done has saved the lives of millions, and made perhaps billions of dollars."

"Does that help you sleep at night?" Daniel asked coldly.

"No."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I've been ordered to."

"By who?"

"The man who runs the show, possible the world."

"The world?" Daniel asked skeptically.

"There is no secret that can be kept from him. If he wants the US military to get certain intelligence he sees to it that they do, but at the same time he gives just as much to terrorists. Through a complicated network he plays chess with the nations of the world as pawns. Many, if not all, of the major events of the past two decades have been put into place by his word."

"One man?"

"Yes."

"What does he want?"

"What does any man want, Dr. Jackson?" York's cold voice entered the conversation.

Daniel looked towards the one way mirror. The lights had been turned on in the other room so now the mirror could easily be seen through. A man in a black shirt and pair of Air Force blue BDU pants was standing casually on the far side of the glass. He had a smile on his face that held an air of superiority to it.

"I've been enjoying watching you over the years, Dr. Jackson." York smiled. "I've learned a lot from you and the SGC as a whole. I haven't decided yet if I want the Stargate or not yet though. It seems to me that it causes more trouble than it does good. Of course if everything goes according to plan I might just be able to bring some peace to this crazy galaxy of ours."

"Peace? Is that what you want?" Daniel asked incredulously. "You want...peace?"

"Well not exactly. What I really want is control, but under my rule there will be a lot more peace than there is now because the only causes to be fought will be my own. That's where you come in."

"You want to use my anger to start a world wide war." Daniel growled.

"Oh no, far from it." York chuckled. "You see, Dr. Jackson, you weren't actually the test subject that I wanted. I have to admit that even I don't have the power yet to pull a member of the military out of a highly secure Base...a civilian on the other hand was easy."

"Jack? You wanted to use his fear as a control measure?"

"For an intelligent man you are surprisingly short sighted." York clucked in disapproval. "No, I wanted Major Samantha Carter, but I knew there was no way Hammond would give her up. As a General he has way too much power over his personnel. As it was I had to pull some fancy tricks to get you out of there. If I had been paying better attention I could have nabbed her in Vegas, but alas even I can't watch everyone at once."

"I don't understand, what could you possibly want with Sam? What could a man like you do with love?"

"Not love, Dr. Jackson, loyalty."

"Loyalty?"

"Love and loyalty are only a heartbeat away from one another." York explained. "I don't need any fancy chemicals to make people fear me. I can make a man quiver with fear using a sharp stick. Loyalty on the other hand, that's something special. It can't be taken, it can't be forced out of someone, it can't even truly be bought. However, it would appear that it can be manufactured, and that Dr. Jackson is what I want. I want to be loved...by everyone."

"I see." Daniel replied slowly and turned to Ricter. "You do know that he's insane, right?"

"I'm fully aware of that." Ricter replied.

"How long have you been 'working' for him?"

"Twenty long years."

"Why haven't you and the others done something about him?" Daniel demanded. "He's just one man."

"Daniel, he sees everything. You can't organize against a man who is just one step away from reading your mind."

"Plus," York added "there are serious consequences for trying and failing to overthrow me."

"Samuels, you killed him."

"I did." York nodded. "However, he got off lightly. Ricter, tell our guest here about Taylor."

"Sir, no..."

"Fine, I'll tell him. Taylor was a bright man, and yet something made him think he could escape, that he could kill me. He failed of course, I could see coming. I don't think he believed in what I can do. Anyway, I had his entire family rounded up and I tortured them for days...he begged me to let him kill them himself. Which eventually I allowed, of course he killed himself the moment he ended their suffering."

Daniel got up off the bed, staring at York in horror. York's gaze remained casual, like he had just told a story about his favourite pet growing up. Daniel looked over to Ricter and saw in the man's terrified and tear brightened eyes that it was all true. Daniel automatically took a step away from York.

"So you see, Dr. Jackson, I have a created a certain kind of loyalty around here. However it only works on small numbers of men. I can't watch the whole world at once. Ruling through fear is a sure fire way to get yourself killed. You've learned that yourself in these Goa'uld you hunt down. They rule through fear and it causes their underlings to constantly rise up against them. I don't want to have to keep crushing rebellions."

"You can't get your loyalty from me. Even if you had whatever this is and you changed it to cause loyalty you couldn't spread it through out the world! Even if you could you couldn't ensure that you'd be the one to garner that loyalty."

"We'll see about that." York turned to Ricter. "Is he ready?"

"It's been forty-five minutes and he is showing no signs of his previous contamination."

"Adrien," Daniel said firmly "I know your family is at stake...but you can't continue to listen to this lunatic."

"Dr. Jackson, don't be rude." York teased. "I'm right here, I can hear you. Of course even if I wasn't I could."

Daniel backed into the corner as York ordered two strong men to enter the quarantine room. One of them had a pair of handcuffs that were made of a clear plastic rather than metal. Daniel looked desperately to Ricter for help, but the doctor turned away. Turning on the two men Daniel lashed out at them.

Despite putting up a good fight it wasn't long before Daniel found himself wearing the clear cuffs. With his hands in front he still had some ability to fight, but it wasn't doing him any good. A painful and breathtaking blow to the stomach took the fight out of him long enough for him to lead out of the room and down the hall with Ricter at the head of the group. When they got to a set of heavy double doors Ricter stopped and turned around.

"Gentlemen I need to remind you to leave all metal objects outside." Ricter announced. "That includes your guns. The imaging equipment in here will just rip them out of your hands anyway."

The two men holding Daniel looked to York who nodded. They took turns dropping their weapons on the floor. Even York pulled his knife from the holster and let it clink to the floor. Ricter glanced down at the weapons before opening the doors with a key card and stepping inside.

Daniel tried to resist being moved forward in an attempt to get one of the weapons. A sharp crack between the shoulder blades erased his hopes of gaining access to guns or the knife. Shoved forward he fell to his hands and knees inside the new room. Looking up Daniel scrambled to his feet and tried to bolt for the door.

Easily captured he was forced deeper into the room. There were computer banks along the side wall and a plastic table that held a host of various medical devices, including a set of hypodermic needles. However none of that was what had captured Daniel's attention.

It was the glass tank filled with ice water that held his gaze. The tank was about six feet in every dimension. Above it swung a chain made of the same clear plastic that his cuffs were with a hook on the end of it. Even though he knew it was pointless Daniel struggled once again against his captors.

When Daniel managed to slam one of them upside the head with the cuffs he wore the resulting cut only served to make the man angrier. Despite his temper he looked to York for direction. York gave him a slight nod and he turned on Daniel for retaliation.

The man grabbed the short chain between Daniel's wrists and forced his hand up over his head. With his stomach exposed he tried to brace himself for what he knew was going to be a nauseating attack. The enraged guard jerked down on Daniel's wrists while bringing his knee up into his stomach. Dropped to the floor by the blow Daniel curled up and struggled to regain his breath.

"These men are special, Dr. Jackson. In a way I've bought their loyalty, but in truth I am simply paying them an obscene amount of money to do what they like to do best." York explained. "Neither one of them would die for me, but I accept that."

Daniel wasn't paying attention, he was still trying to recover from the sickening strike. York gave his men a silent signal and they instantly went into motion. Daniel was vaguely aware of one of them threading the hook from the celling between his wrists but he was still working on getting his bearings.

"Sir...what are you do..."

"Quiet, Ricter."

Daniel cried out as the chain tightened, stretching his arms up over his head and then began to lift him from the floor. He kept his feet on the ground as long as he could, straining up on his tip toes to keep his full weight off his wrists. Eventually they hoisted him up off the floor and over the tank, he kicked at first but realized quickly that it only made matters worse.

Gasping sharply Daniel jerked his feet away from the arctic water despite the strain it put on his bleeding wrists. York gave a silent signal and the man holding the chain slowly lowered his victim into the slush of ice and water. Waist deep in the water Daniel was struggling to breath as the cold caused his diaphragm to spasm violently. The uncontrollable gasping made it difficult to scream and he ended up making a sound that was closer to those from the throws of passion rather than agony.

York watched in fascination at Daniel's reaction to the water. He looked more like he was watching a movie than witnessing a real man dying. When the water was level with Daniel's heart he ordered his man to stop. Thrashing to free his wrists Daniel cried out again as the bone chilling cold lanced pain into his muscles. The instinct to survive caused him to yank at the hard plastic cuffs even as they bit deep into his skin.

"York!" Ricter hissed. "What are you doing?!"

"Calm down, Doc. I'm just having some fun."

"Fu...fun?"

"I get bored down here, my scientist friend."

"Torturing isn't 'fun'."

"Oh yeah, I forgot, for you it's 'work'." York smiled.

"York, please, stop."

"You really have grown attached to him, haven't you?"

"I wouldn't want to watch anyone go through this!"

"Not even me?"

Ricter was left speechless, he jolted as Daniel shrieked in a desperate bid for freedom from the heart stoppingly cold water. York chuckled as Daniel abandoned jerking at the cuffs and worked to grip the plastic chain that held him suspended. Kicking hard with both legs in a powerful dolphin kick Daniel arched his back and managed to get the cuff chain off the hook.

Dumped into the water Daniel clawed his way to the surface with a strangled gasp. York held Ricter back with one hand as Daniel clambered to the edge of the tank. Weak and numb from the ice bath he fell back into the water several time before managing to push off the bottom hard enough to get half his body up over the edge. Twisting out of the tank Daniel landed hard on his back on the cement floor.

York walked over and stood over Daniel who was sputtering for breath. Tilting his head to the side York looked down on Daniel and smiled brightly. Not even noticing his audience Daniel closed his eyes and worked on trying to control his shivering. He curled up as his body cramped spastically from the hypothermia.

After about five minutes on the floor Daniel was still trembling uncontrollably, but his breathing was steadier. Growling in frustration Daniel rolled over onto his stomach so that he could push himself up onto his knees. Once there he took a few deep breaths, trying to keep from retching from the shock of the cold. York watched with fascination as Daniel finally made it to his feet.

"You are a remarkable man, Dr. Jackson."

"Thanks." Daniel replied dryly.

"It would be a shame to have to kill you, maybe we could work something out between us."

"I doubt it."

"Come now, don't be like that."

Daniel turned his stare to the far wall and actively ignored York.

"You have quite the will to live." York pressed. "I mean you must know by now that I intend to immerse you again until your heart stops. All you've done is prolonged your suffering."

"You weren't trying to kill me just then."

"What makes you so certain of that?"

"If you had been trying you would have succeeded." Daniel replied calmly.

"You are an intelligent one." York chuckled and threw his arm over Daniel's shoulders. "Ricter, I can see why you like him."

"Sir, please," Ricter finally spoke "can we just run the test?"

"Hmmm...maybe I was wrong, Dr. Jackson. Maybe Ricter likes you in the same way a researcher prizes his favourite rat."

"I just think toying with him is pointless, and cruel." Ricter said.

"I'm a cruel man, Ricter, you know that."

"Yes, Sir...I do."

"At least I'm proud of who I am." York smiled and pulled Daniel closer. "Now then, Dr. Jackson...can I call you 'Daniel'?"

"No."

"Of course, only your friends call you 'Daniel'." York nodded. "Dr. Jackson, Dr. Ricter here has a test set up that, succeed or fail, will end in your death in that tank of frigid water. Most cold water deaths come from the fact that the victim can no longer swim and they drown, we're not going to let that happen to you. We'll make sure you stay a float so it will be that agonizing chill that slows you down to the point where you go into hallucinations and die. How long do you think it would take to kill a man like you...one, two hours?"

Daniel didn't answer.

"Anyway, here's the deal I'll make with you: I can get any number of homeless souls to fill in for you as 'lab rat', in return for sparing you the horror of a slow death you will live here and work for me. You'll have all the comforts of home here, I even buy the finest quality whores for my employees twice a month. What do you say?"

Daniel tilted his head back just enough to get his lips up against York's ear. York listened to Daniel's reply and broke into a broad grin. A mock shocked look fell over York's face and he playfully tussled Daniel's wet hair.

"Oh my, Dr. Jackson, where did you learn to talk like that?"

Daniel forced a sweet smile.

"Honestly though." York sighed. "I can't believe you're choosing a slow, painful death over a life of luxury here."

"If my answer wasn't clear enough I can give it to you in any number of different languages."

"No, that's okay. I got the point." York untangled himself from Daniel and turned to Ricter. "He's all yours, Doc."

Ricter held his hand out to Daniel in hopes that he would take it. Daniel remained as still as though they had frozen him solid. Ricter took a handful of Daniel's cold shirt and pulled him over towards the plastic table. With his back to York Ricter reached up and took Daniel's jaw in his hand and forced him to look at him. Once he had Daniel attention he flashed him a sad smile.

"I'm sorry, Daniel, for all of this."

Daniel said nothing, he was almost on the verge of collapse.

"Do you need to be restrained?"

"No." Daniel sighed.

Ricter nodded with a sigh. He reached out and took a hold of the neck of Daniel's shirt. With a quick jerk he tore it open. When Daniel didn't so much as flinch he realized that he had truly broken him. Ricter blinked rapidly, desperately trying to hide the tears that had begun to sting his eyes.

"Genera, Sir, do you have the formula?"

"Right here." York reached into his pocket.

York pulled a glass bottle with a rubber seal out of his cargo pocket. Rather than depend on his remote viewing York had watched Ricter's every move while he had made the drug. However he had been unable to understand what Ricter was doing. All York cared was that it worked, and if it worked on Daniel he felt it would be safe to try on himself.

"Sir, you should have your men stand at the door with their weapons in case something goes wrong. The MRI will not affect their guns if they stay just outside the doorway."

"Do it." York ordered.

When the men went to retrieve their weapons Ricter glanced at Daniel to see if he would make move now. Daniel was clearly thinking about it and even looked to see where York was standing. Leaning his back against the cold tank about fifteen feet away York smiled.

"Don't bother, Dr. Jackson, my men have orders to shoot out your knees if you take so much as one step towards me. It won't make your death any quicker."

Glancing at the men in the doorway, who had quickly picked up their guns, Daniel nodded slightly. Ricter took the bottle from York and picked up a large needle to draw out some of the clear fluid. York looked over in interest.

"That's a serious needle, Doc."

"Don't worry, Sir, we can use an anesthetic on you when the time comes."

"No, that's okay, if Dr. Jackson can handle it so can I."

Daniel didn't seem disturbed by the large gauge needle which Ricter appreciated. He didn't flinch even when Ricter changed his grip on the syringe so that he was holding like a stabbing knife. Moving as steady as he could Ricter picked up a palm sized heavy glass bottle.

In one fluid motion he tore the cork out of the bottle with his teeth, poured the contents out onto Daniel's wrists, and flung it at the computer console with all his strength. Daniel screamed as the liquid seared his skin, but also ate through the plastic cuffs. The glass bottle struck a red button that was set into the wall and set off an alarm as well as caused a thick glass wall to slam down over the door. It was a safe guard against contaminating the entire underground structure.

"Ricter, no!" York roared. "Stop!"

Ignoring York Ricter swung his arm hard and embedded the large needle into Daniel's chest. Crying out Daniel arched back as Ricter pushed the clear fluid directly into his heart. His next cry was not one of pain, but of pure rage. York dashed for the sealed door, but his code didn't open it, Ricter had seen to that. They were both trapped.

Daniel's eyes had instantly dilated to the point where they were black holes lined by a thin blue ring. Every muscle snapped tight across his frame as they reacted to heavy dose of adrenaline mixed with a concentrate of the pheromone he had been producing. Lusting to tear apart any living creature he could find Daniel turned a murderous glare on Ricter and screamed in blind fury.

"I'm sorry for this, Daniel, but you're the only weapon I have..."


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter Thirty-seven

"Anything?"

"Nothing."

"Keep looking."

"Yes...uh..."

"You can call me 'Sir'."

"Yes, Sir."

Hammond smiled at the nervous GPR technician. He was not a military man and was clearly a little awestruck to be deep in an underground Air Force Base, which even on a good day didn't really seem to make much sense. The device made a horrendous thumping noise each time it sent off a blast of radar into the hard concrete.

Jack was pacing around in the quarantine room, threatening to wear a track into the hard floor. Sam and Janet were sitting on the bed talking quietly to one another. When Hammond stepped into view Jack nearly ran into the glass.

"Sir, please, you gotta let us out of here." Jack begged.

"No can do, Colonel. Not until we are one hundred percent certain that your infection won't be reoccurring."

"I am one hundred percent certain, Sir." Jack said quickly.

"I'm sure you are, howeve..."

"General!" The GRP technician called. "Sir, I think I may have found something."

"No way." Jack uttered in disbelief.

Sam and Janet joined Jack at the glass as Hammond hustled out. He seemed to be gone for an eternity. Sam noticed how Jack sudden wrapped his arms over his chest and started rubbing at them. When he actively shivered Janet took notice as well.

"Colonel?" Sam asked in concern.

"It's nothing."

"What's going on?"

"I just feel a little...chilled."

Sam and Janet exchanged a worried glance, but it was clear that Jack wasn't going to share any further. After a long wait Hammond came back into the room looking troubled. He didn't say anything at first, he was locked in thought. Eventually Jack couldn't take the suspense any more.

"General?"

"We've found...something."

"Something?" The trio repeated in unison.

"It could be a layer of granite..."

"Or?"

"Or it could be a concrete ceiling." Hammond admitted. "It is hard to tell, it's deep whatever it is, just at the range of the device. About forty-five feet down."

"How could there possibly be a facility down there that we don't know about?" Jack demanded. "How on Earth could something like this happen?"

"Sir," Sam ventured her opinion "maybe it's not 'of this Earth'."

"A Goa'uld?"

"It's a possibility." Sam nodded. "They may have been drawn here by the Gate, they could be watching us, maybe even from the beginning."

"Waiting for us to clean up the competition." Jack growled.

"It's a possibility."

"Carter, stop using that word. All I really care is: does this mean that Daniel really could be down there?"

"It's a possi...um...he could be."

"That's it, General, please, enough games, let us out of here."

"And then what?" Hammond asked.

"And then we go get Daniel!"

"Colonel, there is fifty feet of rock between here and there. It took months to get this ten foot level dug out."

"There has to be an access point." Sam said. "If it is a Goa'uld they would know not to use rings, we'd see that heat signature. There has to be a mundane way down there. I mean Ricter was up here, right?"

"Right." Jack nodded. "But even if we don't know what's under our feet we certainly know the lay of the land for a hundred miles in every direction."

"General," Sam said "can you get us an aerial image map of the mountain and surrounding area? We'll do what we can from in here."

"Or better yet," Jack smiled brightly "let us out and we'll just hop on Google Maps."

Hammond didn't even grace Jack with an answer, he just left to fulfill Sam's request. He returned with over a dozen colour print outs. Rather than pass them through the air lock he had an Airman tape them to the glass so that they formed a large detailed map of the mountain. While he was doing that Sam asked that a grease pencil be brought to her.

Studying the map intensely Sam started circling places on the glass over the map. Jack stood at her side staring at the map with more of a blank look on his face. A few times he pointed to a random spot on the map. Sam would inspect whatever he was bringing to her attention and without fail always shook her head.

"Carter, just what are we looking for?"

"Anything out of place as far as natural structures go, straight lines, or possible caves, over hangs. Anything out of the ordinary."

"I'll tell you what's out of the ordinary." Jack huffed and placed his finger over the small diner on the outskirts of the mountain. "This place. I almost got arrested there once just drinking my coffee. And the food...ugh, awful."

"How long has that diner been there?" Sam asked looking closer.

"I don't know, I'd say from the décor mid 60's."

"That's...genius." Sam said in awe.

"What is? Me again? Cause I swear between Doc Frasier and you I'm going to start thinking I actually have some brains."

"Sir, the diner would be the perfect place to hide an entrance way. No one would ever suspect, it's probably in the floor of the kitchen or behind the pantry."

"General!" Jack called. "Sir, I think we've got so..."

Jack stopped in midsentance and collapsed back to the floor with a heart wrenching scream. Curling up against the wash of sourceless pain that wracked his whole body he cried out again. Through the red haze of pain he realized he wasn't the only one affected this time. Sam and Janet were on the floor next to him with their arms wrapped over their stomachs. Their high pitched screams intensified his own troubles. From out in the hallway came more cries of pain.

It was over as quickly as it had come, however it wasn't easy to recover from. Jack got to his feet slowly and then helped Sam and Janet up as well. Everyone looked at one another with the same worried expressions on their faces.

"You don't think Daniel did that...do you?" Sam asked nervously.

"If he did I'd really appreciate it if he didn't do it again." Jack grumbled.

Hammond, looking pale, came back into the room. The phone on the wall rang and he answered, after listening for a second he gave an order and hung up. He looked everyone over for a moment before speaking.

"Are you alright?" Hammond asked.

"Yes, Sir." Janet answered for everyone.

"Whatever that was it effected the whole Base." Hammond reported.

"Sir, please, you have got to let us out of here." Jack pressed again.  
"Carter thinks she may have found a way down into this other Base."

"The truth of the matter is that it is not up to me. I am under strict or..."

The team was sent to the floor again, but this time not by a wave of pain, but rather a shock wave. The aftermath of what felt like a massive explosion rocked the Base. The glass that separated them shattered noisily. When the rumbling subsided Jack got back to his feet and looked around with a smile.

"General," Jack shrugged in mock helplessness "cat's out of the bag now."

"Fine." Hammond sighed. "Colonel get your team together along with SG 3, 5, 7, and 10. If there really is a Base under us I want that rat's nest cleaned out!"

"Yes, Sir!"

"General," Janet stepped forward "permission to join SG-1."

"Doctor..."

"Even under the best of care Daniel would have been near death by now, and something tells me they haven't been treating him very well."

"Alright, Doc. Just be careful, all of you."

"It's what we do best, Sir." Jack beamed.

"Since when?"

"Since...uh...."

"Just get going."

"Right!" Jack practically bounded out of the quarantine room. "Teal'c! Buddy, you coming with us or what?"

"Indeed."

Jack was out of the scrubs he'd been wearing and into a set of BDUs so quickly he'd buttoned the jacket up one button hole off. The teams were gathered in the war room and a brief run down of what was going on was given out. He was just about to dismiss everyone when Sam nudged his arm and gave him the 'I know you don't want to, but you have to' look. Jack sighed heavily and adressed the room once more.

"If you find Dr. Jackson, and he is not restrained in anyway, you are to order him to lay down on the floor. Stay at least twenty feet from him at all times. If he refuses to comply and approaches you...take him down."

"Sir?" Colonel Trevis of SG-5 asked in shock.

"If Dr. Daniel Jackson approaches you: your orders are to shoot to kill."


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter Thirty-eight

"Come on, Carter, I'm freezing my ass off."

"You could be helping me look."

"Right." Jack looked around the walk-in freezer they were in. "I've never seen so much cholesterol in one place before, they must have seven hundred pounds of bacon alone."

Sam just shook her head sadly and kept searching for a hidden entrance. The fact that such a small diner would have a large walk-in freezer was a hopeful sign, even though there was nothing in the design of the building to suggest it was hiding something as large as an elevator. Upon arrival at the diner Jack had given orders to have everyone on the property detained, including the pair of cops having their morning coffee.

"Carter, check this out."

"What is it?"

"Pork on wheels."

Sam turned and saw that part of the diner's supply of bacon was stacked on hidden casters. Jack had been easily able to pull several hundred pounds of frozen meat away from the wall, revealing a smooth metal surface. Sam walked over and scrapped the layer of frost off a small glass panel set into the wall. Under the glass was a pad of coloured buttons that started to glow gently under her touch even through the glass.

"I need to find a way to interface with it if I'm going to have any chance of unlocking it."

"Never mind that." Jack motioned one of the other team leaders in. "C4 this wall out of existence."

"Yes, Sir."

Jack guided Sam back out of the freezer and started hustling the other SG teams back out of the blast zone. It only took about five minutes before they were able to blow a sizable hole in the metal wall. Jack stepped back inside and looked down into the small shaft that had been exposed.

"There was a one person elevator in the shaft, Sir." The demolition leader informed. "It fell to the bottom right after the explosion."

"How far down?"

"A long, long, long way down, Sir."

"Great." Jack sighed. "Get the rappelling gear. I will let you know when I get to the bottom. Carter, Teal'c, you two will follow me. Colonel Resse?"

"Yes, Sir?"

"If there is enough room at the bottom to gather the rest of the teams you are to do so, then I'm placing you in charge of the rest of the teams."

"What about you, Sir?"

"SG-1 is going to move in ahead, there is only room for one person to head down at a time and it will take at least an hour to gather everyone assuming there is even room to do so. We'll scout out ahead."

"Colonel?" Janet made herself known. "I'm coming with you."

"No way, Doc. Stay her..."

"Sir, if you want even half a chance of bringing Daniel back alive, I strongly suggest you let me join you."

"Alright." Jack nodded. "Is that gear ready yet?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Here we go then."

Jack had never been one to love heights that didn't involve being in an aircraft and bottomless depths weren't any higher on his list. The steel lined shaft was only about four feet in each direction which made traditional rappelling impossible. He let the line out slowly until he reached the end of the slack. Twisting around he shined the light down to see how much further to the bottom.

About three feet from where he was dangling was a mass of tangled steel cable. Dropping down the rest of the way Jack found himself on top of the fallen elevator. After a minutes worth of search he found what he was looking for.

Pushing the heavy cable to the side he opened the emergency hatch on the elevator and dropped inside. The doors had already fallen partway open from the fall. Jack pushed them open the rest of the way and peeked out into the space beyond. It was like any number of the hallway tunnels at the SG.

"Carter?" Jack muttered into his radio.

"Yes, Sir?"

"There is plenty of room down here. Come on down, the elevator is three feet further down than the end of the rope."

"On my way."

Jack heard the whine of the ropes as Sam lowered herself down far faster than he had dared. It wasn't long before Janet and Teal'c joined them. Sam went directly over to the wall and touched it, as if trying to convince herself that it was real.

"Carter?"

"Sorry, Sir. It's just so..."

"Eerie?" Jack provided.

"I was actually going to say 'familiar'. The paint may be different, but the construction is the same."

"What were you expecting?"

"I was expecting this to be constructed by Goa'uld technology, not human. Sir, this place was mostly constructed at the same time the SGC complex was excavated."

"By us?"

"It's a poss..."

"Stop right there." Jack turned to address the whole team. "Stick close, there is no telling what is down here."

"O'Neill?" Teal'c asked.

"Yes?"

"Am I to understand that if we do indeed find Daniel Jackson that we are to kill him if he approaches?"

"We are going to do everything to keep it from coming to that, T."

"I have a zat'nik'itel in my possession."

"Yeah," Jack sighed "Doc Frasier and I already talked about that. With all the metal in his brain a zat blast will cause sever and irreversible brain damage. Since the metal is so far forward, he'd still be able to keep his heart rate, and breathing going, maybe even move around, but he'd have no rational thought. I'd rather just shoot him."

"Understood."

Jack fell into a sullen silence and lead the team down the hall. The tunnel they were in was a long one, which was not unexpected. They were three miles from the SGC and clearly they were now working their way back there. Jack kept in radio communication with the other teams as they got closer to their target. The tunnel veered off sharply up head, blocking their view. Nearly back to the SGC Sam looked up as a drop of water struck her skin.

"Sir, the ceiling is cracked."

"There is also some fallen debris up a hea..." Jack stopped suddenly and signaled to the others that someone was approaching.

The signal wasn't really needed, whoever was coming up the tunnel wasn't taking any efforts to be stealthy. Running up the hall they panted for breath noisily. Jack and the others ready themselves for the new arrival. An older woman in a blood stained lab coat came dashing around the corner.

"Stop!" Jack barked.

Skidding to a halt instantly the woman fell to her knees and put her hands behind her head. Shaking and still panting for breath she kept her head bowed. Jack and Sam exchanged a confused glance before slowly approaching. The woman was crying uncontrollably as she kept herself in the submissive posture.

"Please, please, I'm sorry...I...I didn't know what to do." The woman whimpered. "I'll go back, just tell me what to do. I'm sor..."

"Whoa, calm down." Jack said. "Who are you?"

"Dr. Ella Young, 47829, Level 3." She replied instantly. "Please, don't hurt me."

"Dr. Ella Marie Young?" Janet asked in shock as she stepped forward.

"Yes."

"Doc, you know her?" Jack asked.

"Not personally, but she was a major contributor to the early years of gene therapy studies...until she was killed in a car accident ten years ago."

"Come again?" Jack asked.

"Who...who are you?" Dr. Young asked after glancing up. "You don't look like York's men."

"We're not. Listen, we don't have much time, tell us what is going on down here?"

"I don't know. There was an explosion, it's chaos down there."

"Where is Daniel Jackson?"

"I don't know who that is. What Level does he work for?"

"He doesn't work down here, he was kidnapped."

"Of course he was, we all were."

"I don't have time for this." Jack growled and turned to his radio. "Resse, how much longer?"

"The last man just came down."

"I've got someone here for you, I want everyone you come across detained. We'll sort it all out later."

Jack pulled out a zip tie and secured the woman's hands behind her back. She was still trembling with fear and once she realized she was being restrained she started to cry once again. Leaving her behind they continued down the hall.

As they progressed more damage to the structure became apparent. The lights above flickered in places and piles of ruble were strewn about. The hallway came to an abrupt end with a blast door that was ajar. On the far side of the door was a replica of one of the SGCs office levels, only painted in white rather than gray. At first no one seemed to be around, but soon the team heard arguing coming from behind one of the doors.

"We should get out now!" One voice snarled. "It is starting to look like York can cause pain from a distance, we might as well suffer on the surface."

"Even if we get to the elevator we have no way of working it."

"And for all we know York has twenty armed men waiting there to gun us down!"

"What if this is some sort of test? York could be watching us right now..."

"Steven, quiet. Gwen, have you got through to the top side yet?"

"No, all communications are dead, that explosion knocked out everything but the lights, I don't even think the ventilators are working."

"Damn it!" The voice that had seemed the most in charge snarled. "I swear to God I am not going to die down here!"

"Yes you are, we all are. We need to accept that."

Jack and Sam looked at one another, both hoping the other had a clue as to what was going on. It was clear that neither one of them did. Jack shrugged and gave the hand signals for the team to approach the door, and secure the room. After making sure everyone was ready Jack kicked in the door and went in with his weapon ready.

"Everyone on the floor now!" Jack barked.

The room of about fifteen men and women cried out in panic and all but one dropped to the floor as though it was a practiced routine. The one man who hadn't collapsed simply stood his ground. Jack honed in on him instantly and brought him into his cross hairs. Looking tired the man just stared at Jack.

"Go ahead." The man said. "Just kill me."

"I'm not here to shoot you, just get down on your knees so I know you're not a threat."

"But I am a threat, I'm not doing this anymore. Not at any price, and not to avoid any cost."

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Jack hissed.

"Sir?" Janet spoke up. "I recognize three people in this room, scientific specialists...all of whom should be dead."

"For crying out loud." Jack growled. "All I really want to know right now is where is Daniel Jackson. Can anyone here tell me that?"

"Is he a psychic?" The man asked.

"Sort of."

"Then he'll be on the deepest level, Level 5."

"Thank you." Jack said sincerely.

"The stairs are down the hall on the right, none of us can help you get down there though, we don't have the access codes."

"I have my own access code." Jack patted the small brick of C4 in his pocket. "How many more people are in this complex?"

"We don't know. All of the other guards seem to have been recalled to the deep level, but none of us have ever been down there, and no one from Level 3 or 4 has shown."

"Alright, all of you, stay put. Help is on the way."

"Help? You don't work for York?"

"Never heard of him. Now stay here."

"Yes, yes of course."

Jack told Resse over the radio what he had found. He also informed them to secure the other four levels and that SG-1 was going to make a sweep of five. He had the team back out of the room and closed the door. He looked to his team.

"Theories anyone?"

"Sounds to me like Daniel isn't the only down here against his will." Sam replied.

"Which might be why I got a look at those images of Daniel, someone else wanted help with a cure." Janet added.

"A traitor among thieves?" Jack mused.

"Exactly."

"Good. Let's go."

Jack lead the team to the stairs and they headed down. When they got to the fourth level they could see why no one from there and the floor above had retreated to the upper level. The door into 4 was broken open by a landslide of rubble. Part or all of the roof of 4, the floor of 3, had collapsed. Ignoring the broken levels Jack hustled down the stairs to the last door. There was a colour coded lock on this door.

Jack went to get out the C4 but Sam stopped him. She walked up to the coloured keypad and studied it for a moment. Knitting her brow she punched a sequence into it. After the pad flickered a few colours it turned green and the door slide open. Beyond the door the hallway was darkened with broken flickering lights. There was a few inches of water on the floor and areas of cave in.

"Carter, how did you do that?"

"I had a dream, about this door."

"Okay, that's cre..."

"Run!!" A desperate female voice interrupted Jack.

A woman in a torn lab coat with blood dripping from her face bolted through the door and into the mists of the team. Teal'c reached out and grabbed her by the upper arm. She screamed in terror and fought bitterly to free herself.

"Please, please let me go!" She cried. "Let me go and seal this door! It's our only chance to get away from him!"

Jack wanted some answers out of this woman, but it only took one glance to see that he wasn't going to get any. She was shaking with fear, still clawing to get away from Teal'c. Jack looked into the darkened and broken hallway and heard a distant cry of pain.

"Teal'c let her go, we need to move forward."

Teal'c released his captive and she dashed up the stairs. Jack checked the hall one more time before signaling everyone forward. Coming to the first turn they discovered two men laying in a tangled heap. Jack approached them cautiously even though it was clear that they were dead.

"Sir," Sam said quietly "they're wearing military clothing."

"But no dog tags. Something is very wrong here."

"They've also been beaten and shot." Janet pointed out. "Someone didn't just want them dead, they wanted to inflict a great deal of damage on them."

"Eyes sharp, keep moving."

When the wet ground under Jack's feet made an usual cracking sound he shone the light he was holding down. The floor was covered in thick shards of broken glass. He paused as he heard a low moan of pain. The sound had come from a large doorway up and to the right. The doorway was the source of the glass and there was a large pile of it in the doorway.

Crawling over the glass Jack surveyed the sinister looking room. There was a large tank of ice water that had a large crack in it that dominated the center of the room. The cold water was slowly leaking from the fracture. There was a spatter of blood against the glass of the nearest unbroken side that glistened in the flickering overhead lights.

At one point there had been computer screens along the walls, but now all of them were smashed and broken. The few tables in the room had been over turned and several medical looking devices lay in ruins. From the far side of one of the over turned tables came the weak moan once again.

Weapons held high the team circled around the fallen table. Laying on the floor was a man near Jack's age, his hair just starting to silver. The water around him was stained a dilute red from the blood leaking from a gash in his side. Deep purple bruises marred the side of his face and formed a necklace around his throat. With his shoulder held at an awkward angle he gasped painful for each breath.

"Sir, that's Ricter." Sam said.

Upon hearing his name Ricter snapped his eyes open. At first he desperately tried to scramble away despite his injuries. However after looking more carefully at his audience he broke into a relieved weeping. Janet instinctively knelt down next to him to survey the damage but Ricter just shook his head.

"No, no, Doctor, it's too late." Ricter whispered. "You must find York."

"Screw this 'York'," Jack snapped "where the hell is Daniel?"

"Daniel will kill you on sight." Ricter panted.

"Is he still contagious?" Janet asked.

"No, no but he is far more dangerous than before." Ricter babbled as he started to fade. "Forget him, York is the real threat, no just to you, but everyone. Plea..."

Ricter stopped as a howling wail that brought with it a vague pain to everyone's stomachs echoed through the hallways. It was hard to tell if the cry had been one of pain, fear, anger, or just sheer desperation. About the only thing certain about the call was its owner.

"Daniel." Sam whispered in horror.

"All of you stay here." Jack growled darkly.

"Sir?"

"That's an order."

Jack unclipped his P90 and handed it to Teal'c, pulling out instead the smaller more accurate sidearm. Sam started to follow him despite the orders, but she stopped cold in her tracks when Jack turned and glared at her murderously. Stalking off Jack followed the strained werewolf like call that now repeated itself.

It was hard to step quietly in the sloshing water on the floor. Walking towards his friend Jack came across three more bodies, all of them broken and contorted in the agony of their last moments. Jack flicked the safety off the weapon he carried, fearing that Daniel couldn't be saved from this. Even if he was peacefully captured and treated, if he had memories of these gory murders there was little doubt that his sanity would be lost.

Coming to a slightly ajar door Jack could hear a new sound, a quiet, desperate weeping. Suspecting another injured victim Jack considered just searching on for his target. However the mournful sound was more than he could walk away from. Weapon in hand he nudged the door open.

Jack's breath hissed quietly over his teeth at the sight beyond the door. It had at one point been some sort of medical exam room, but now it was the scene of a horror movie. Blood was sprayed up on the broken and emptied cabinets. Anything that could be thrown or broken had been, including the two occupants of the room.

The real surprise was the source of the crying. Kneeling next to the destroyed body of a woman Daniel was whimpering over her. He put his palm against her chest and pushed against it as if trying to perform CPR, however all hope of life had left the woman's body long ago. Daniel tried desperately to bring her back, to the point of doing more damage to the body. With his shirt torn open Jack could see four gashes across Daniel's chest that look like they'd been inflicted by fingernails. There was also a glint of silver over his heart where the broken end of the needle still embedded in his heart was sticking out.

"Daniel." Jack said softly.

Daniel jerked his head up and stared at Jack. At first he seemed far more fearful than angry. He even scrambled back into the corner when Jack took a step forward. Still standing ten feet away Jack held out his left hand as an offer for Daniel to come and take. Daniel eyed Jack's hand like a starving wild animal being offered something to eat by a human.

"It's alright, Daniel, it's Jack." Jack forced a smile. "We need to get you home."

Daniel's eyes went from Jack's hand down to the dead woman and back again. Jack could see him struggling to think clearly. It was looking hopeful that Daniel would follow him peacefully until his eyes fell on the gun that Jack still held in his right hand.

Getting to his feet Daniel's eyes narrowed into icy slits and the gun in Jack hand suddenly felt as though it had turned red hot. Yelping in pain and surprise Jack automatically released his hold on the weapon. Daniel cried out and threw himself at Jack, once again lost in his murderous rage.

Before Jack could react Daniel had knocked them both to the floor. Fighting like a junk yard dog Daniel's only goal was to get his hands around Jack's throat. Jack worked hard to beat his crazed friend off him, but in his drugged state he was simply too strong. Finding Daniel's hands closing around his throat Jack used all his strength to bring his knee up into Daniel's stomach.

Dry heaving from the blow Daniel was now easily pushed off. When Daniel stumbled back however his hand landed on the discarded gun. As Daniel inspected the weapon Jack scrambled up and dove behind the metal exam table that had been broken off at its base and fallen to the floor.

Not bothering with taking aim Daniel simply fired towards the motion. Jack curled up as small as he could as the bullets slammed into the table. They left deep dent marks, but didn't manage to penetrate the hard thick steel. When the gun fire stopped Jack looked up and scrambled back when he found that Daniel had gotten to his feet and walk around the protective barrier.

The look in Daniel's bloodshot eyes was no longer a murderous one, just a cold blank stare. He had the gun aimed directly between Jack's eyes, but hesitated on the trigger. Panting for breath Jack slowly got to his knees. Daniel kept his aim trained on him, but other than that he remained motionless. Jack kept his hands in view in a sign of peaceful surrender. Daniel continued to stare at him coldly before readjusting his aim to Jack's heart.

"Daniel...I'm sorry."

Recognition flashed across Daniel's bloodied features. Jack kept his eyes locked on Daniel's rather than on the weapon being trained on him. Daniel's heavy breathing suddenly started getting shallow. He took an awkward step back before taking his aim away from Jack. He looked down at the weapon in his hand and instantly raised it to his own temple.

"Daniel, no!"

Jack cried out in pure panic as Daniel collapsed to the floor. Dashing over to his fallen friend he dropped to his knees next to him. Jack's first move was to try and asses how much damage there was. Although Daniel's temple was bloodied, there was no devastating wound. It suddenly occurred to Jack that there hadn't been a gun shot. He pressed his fingertips against Daniel's throat and found his heartbeat weak and his skin radiating heat.

Jack snatched the gun out of Daniel's slack hand and tore open the clip. Part of him had been expecting to see nothing more than an empty cartridge. However there was one bullet left in the clip, and another in the chamber. Just enough to kill them both. Smiling sadly Jack reached out and ran a shaky hand through Daniel's wet hair.

"At least I know you're still in there somewhere...you had me worried for a second."


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter Thirty-nine

Sam watched Jack leave, wanting to go with him, but understanding why he was going alone. Needing a distraction she turned her attention back to Janet who was trying to help her unwilling patient. Ricter kept pushing her away, insisting that nothing could be done. Janet made a noise of frustration.

"Sir," Janet growled "you are not dying, the cut in your side hasn't gone through the abdominal wall, you have a great deal of injuries, but none of them are fatal. You could bleed out in like five hours, but I'm not about to let that happen."

"I don't deserve to survive this."

"Too bad." Janet snapped. "Now hold still."

"Who are you?" Sam asked. "What is this place?"

"My name is Dr. Adrien Ricter, once a specialist in neuroendocrinology, now little more than a cowardly torturer. And this is private hell ruled over by a powerful remote viewer named York."

"A remote viewer?"

"York has an extra sensory capacity beyond any other known, he can look in on any event anywhere. There is no secret that can be kept from him, there is no limit to what he can learn from watching others. In 1964 when this mountain was originally dug these lower levels were built under the highest of security to serve as a place for the most important government agents to retreat to in case of nuclear attack. In 1971 it was taken over by a top secret project: the Stargate Project."

"The Stargate wasn't brought to the mountain until 1994." Sam pointed out.

"No, not your Stargate project, ours. A project for looking into military use of extrasensory perception."

"That project isn't so secret." Janet said. "I've heard of it, they closed it down in the mid nineties, it was never taken very seriously."

"That's not true." Ricter shook his head. "It was taken very seriously at first due to a young viewer named York. He was dragged down here, tested on, experimented with, forced to view America's enemies, starved and tortured if he didn't comply. What his captors didn't realize is that he was watching them very closely. After two years down here York had enough information and friends to take over the facility, he then blackmailed his way into getting this place buried and forgotten."

"Why wouldn't he just want out?"

"Erased from any record he's been kidnapping scientists and researchers for years and putting them to work. He's trying to unlock how his mind works to become more powerful. Over the years we've developed medical breakthroughs, which he sells to add to his growing empire."

"If you have all been held here against your will why haven't you fought back?" Sam asked.

"How could we?" Ricter demanded. "We couldn't organize against him, he hires mercenaries to guard us, he knows where our families live and he has proven in the past he's not above punishing them for our mistakes. I fear to think what will happen to mine if York escapes."

"Why your family?"

"I was the one who set Daniel loose on him. I thought I'd trapped us all in here, I injected enough of the chemical he's been producing along with adrenaline to throw him into a psychotic, murderous rage. The only thing that kept him from killing me was his desire to get to York. However, I didn't know York had charges built into the Base, he destroyed the third floor to get the contamination shield down here to break."

"And that released Daniel as well." Sam sighed. "Is he savable?"

"I don't know, I planed for all three of us to die."

"You are a coward." Sam snarled. "Forcing Daniel to solve your problems at the cost of his life."

"York isn't my problem, he's the world's problem. He must be fou..."

"Ricter?" Janet asked.

"Major Carter, you, you can find him!" Ricter gasped and started looking around the floor. "York told me you were becoming a remote viewer."

"I've lost it."

"You can get it back." Ricter said as he picked up a small glass bottle. "Extrasensory is genetic, it doesn't matter how the amygdala gets stimulated, it just needs to be enough to enhance the pineal gland. You can find York with this."

"Is this what you used on Daniel?" Janet asked as took the bottle away.

"Yes, yes, I'm sorry, I had to. Please, find him, find York. He's injured, he's angry, he's dangerous, but vulnerable right now. If you can't do this for national security, please hunt him down for what he's done to Daniel."

"What about what you've done to Daniel?" Sam hissed. "Should I take vengeance for that too?"

"There is no need."

All Sam saw was a quick flash of silver. Janet acted as quickly as she could, but she wasn't quick enough. Among the fallen medical equipment on the floor Ricter had snatched a scalpel. With medical precision he slashed open his wrist. Janet lashed out to try and catch his wrist, but Ricter jerked it away from here.

"I told you that you couldn't help me, Dr. Frasier." Ricter said sadly. "I can not live with what I've done, and I can not live with the risk of facing York's wrath."

"Ric..."

Sam was cut off as she heard gun shots ring out. Ricter had closed his eyes as Janet tried uselessly to stop the bleeding. Sam glanced at Teal'c and he nodded. Feeling better to have his blessing Sam disobeyed orders and dashed down the hall. When she felt she was getting closer she slowed down. With her P90 held ready she crept up on the scene.

"Daniel...I'm sorry." Jack's voice floated down the hall.

Sam's heart jumped into her throat, fearing that the gun fire had been Jack being forced to take Daniel down. Approaching the ajar door ahead Sam gently pushed it opened. Sam tensed in in shock when she saw Daniel standing with Jack's gun in his hand. She couldn't see Jack, but she knew that's who Daniel was aiming at.

Swallowing hard Sam raised her weapon and flicked the safety off. Sam was just finding the courage to fire when Daniel turned his gun on himself and collapsed. Taking a step back as Jack cried out Sam put the safety back on and lowered the weapon, finding herself suddenly short of breath. She watched as Jack ran his fingers through Daniel's hair, his touch was like one of a father over an ailing child.

"At least I still know you're in there somewhere." Jack sighed. "You had me worried for a second."

Sam hung back for a minute so that Jack wouldn't know that the moment between himself and Daniel had a witness. When she did step forward and made herself known Jack didn't seem surprised to see her. Looking up at her he forced a sad smile.

"You know, Carter, I didn't enjoy sharing his pain, but if I could just take it, if I could carry the burden alone, I'd do it in a heartbeat."

"I know, Sir."

Jack looked back to Daniel and closed his eyes as tears slipped down his face. Sam wasn't sure she'd ever seen the Colonel looking so defeated. Jack slowly got to his feet and gathered Daniel up in his arms, gritting his teeth as the birdshot wound in his shoulder protested. Sam's breath hissed across her teeth as she saw the state of Daniel's wrists. The acid splash to free him from the plastic cuffs had eaten away at his skin, leaving raw muscle exposed.

"He's burning up." Jack fretted.

"Janet can help."

"She can fix his body, he's in more trouble than that."

"It will be a start."

Jack nodded and with Daniel in his arms he followed Sam back to where they had left the others. Janet was missing a sleeve, she had torn it off and tied it around Ricter's wrist to keep him from bleeding to death. When she saw the others return she abandoned her patient to check on Daniel's condition. Her first move was to press her fingers against his throat, but she quickly placed the back of her hand against his his forehead. When she saw the flash of silver in his chest she yanked the broken needle out and tossed it aside.

"He's going to have a seizure any second now if we don't get that fever down." Janet noted clinically.

"There's a tall glass of ice water behind you." Jack pointed out. "Let's just take him for a swim."

"No, we can't do that, it will make things worse."

"How could they possibly be worse?"

"A sudden drop into ice water could send him into shock, and the vasoconstiction it would cause may even keep him from cooling dow..."

Janet stopped as Daniel started convulsing against the rising heat. Jack had been having a hard enough time holding Daniel up and was now forced to put him on the floor. Daniel had his jaw clenched so tight that the muscles of his neck stood out in sharp definition. Arching his back Daniel opened his eyes, however they were rolled back so that only the whites showed.

"Teal'c!" Jack barked. "Get up on the edge of that tank, I'll hand Daniel up to you."

Teal'c nodded and grabbed onto the lip of the tank to haul himself up. Jack looked up at Janet, who was doing her best to keep Daniel from beating his own head against the floor.

"Doc? Am I doing the right thing?"

"At this point our only choices are to try the ice or let him die."

"I'm certainly not just going to let him die." Jack growled as he lifted Daniel up off the floor once again.

Teal'c had perched himself on the corner of the tank with one leg in and one out to allow him to lean down and lift Daniel up. The large crack in the front of the glass had caused some of the water to leak out so that now it was only about four feet deep. Jack held Daniel as high as his strength would allow.

Keeping his balance Teal'c took Daniel from Jack. Daniel's seizure continued causing him to quiver frightening. Teal'c held Daniel close to his chest and swung his leg over to jump down into the icy water. Landing hard on the glass floor of the tank Teal'c weld his eyes shut and forced himself not to gasp. He had kept Daniel up high enough that he hadn't splashed directly into the ice bath.

"How's the water, T?" Jack asked.

"Extremely cold." Teal'c grumbled.

"Put Daniel in the water as slowly as you can." Janet instructed.

Teal'c nodded and took a deep breath. Rather than release Daniel into the water Teal'c simply slowly went down on his knees. When his back touched the water Daniel gasped violently, although it was hard to tell if the cold had brought him back to his senses or if it had been an automatic reaction.

The second that Teal'c had touched the water Janet had looked at her watch. She was still staring at it, knowing that too long in the water and Teal'c wouldn't have the strength to get himself out, let alone Daniel. Nearly two minutes in the heat draining water and Daniel truly woke. Screaming as though he was being murdered Daniel began to fight against Teal'c's strong hold.

"Let me go!" Daniel wailed. "Adrien! Help me!"

"Daniel," Jack put his palms against the cold glass "calm down, it's us. We're trying to help you."

Daniel was beyond listing to reason, or even a friendly voice. Back in the arctic torment he battled blindly for freedom. Lashing out he beat his hand with the metal splint against the glass as Teal'c struggled to keep him from drowning. With his own body going numb Teal'c was having difficulty controlling Daniel's spastic motions.

"Sir, Teal'c can't spend anymore time in there."

"Do you think Daniel's cooled down enough?"

"I doubt it, but Teal'c isn't going to have the strength get out if we wait any longer."

"Alright, Teal'c that's enou..."

Jack took a step back in surprise as Teal'c suddenly cried out. Daniel had gone eerily still. Eyes closed he looked passed out in Teal'c arms. However the agony that Teal'c seemed to be in told a different story. He tried to get to his feet in the cold water, but fell back down to his knees.

"Daniel!" Sam cried. "Stop!"

"Teal'c," Jack clamored up onto the edge of the tank "give him to me, you gotta get out of there."

Jack's balance on the top of the tank was not as good as Teal'c but he reached out to take Daniel anyway. Teal'c looked up at Jack, panting for breath, looking like he didn't understand what Jack wanted. Jack stretched his hand out and was able to grab a hold of Daniel's raw and bleeding wrist.

The instant Jack touched Daniel pain lanced up his arm and into his chest. Jack ground his teeth together, refusing to let go. Teal'c was still trying to get to his feet under the combined strains of keeping Daniel above water, the blaze of agony being forced on him, and the numbing water.

Before Jack knew what was happening Daniel jerked him off his perch and into the freezing water. Jack instinctively gasped and ended up with a mouthful of water. He would have drown on the spot if it wasn't for Teal'c releasing Daniel with one hand and grabbing Jack's collar. Now keeping both men above water Teal'c had no chance of getting any of them out of danger. Sam looked over the situation and made a quick decision.

"Stand back, Janet." Sam ordered.

Janet took a few steps away. Sam raised her sidearm and fired a single shot into each of the four corners of the front panel of glass. The glass shattered noisily. The trio was swept out of the tank along with the broken glass, water, and ice that gushed out onto the floor. Teal'c was the first to his feet, shivering slightly, but recovering quickly.

Sam helped Jack sit up while Janet knelt down to see how Daniel was doing. When she pressed her fingers against his throat his blue eyes snapped open. Janet felt a wash of pain, but before she could cry out it was gone. Staring at Janet Daniel reached up and touched the side of her face. He looked confused but a slight smile touched the corners of his mouth. After that he passed out once again.

"Doc?"

"I wouldn't call him 'stable'," Janet replied "but he's better than he was."

"What about what's-his-face over there." Jack motioned towards Ricter.

"He's still breathing."

"Alright, Kids, let's get back to the SGC ASAP." Jack said wearily.

"What about York?" Sam asked.

"We'll deal with him later, assuming he's still alive."

"Something tells me we'd better assume he is until we have proof otherwise."


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter Forty

Jack sat on one of the infirmary beds watching Daniel sleep. It had taken two hours of surgery to repair his wrists as best they could and four hours of chelation therapy to ensure that he was no longer contagious. Daniel had slept through the whole thing and continued to do so three hours later. Jack looked up as Sam entered the infirmary. She sat down next to Jack and flashed him a sad smile.

"Any change?" Sam asked.

"No." Jack shook his head. "Doc says he's surprisingly stable though."

"That's a start."

"Yeah. How's...um..."

"Ricter." Sam supplied. "He's recovering."

"How was Resse's briefing? Thanks for coving for me, by the way."

"Not a problem. So far we've got twenty-seven alive and twelve dead out of the upper levels."

"How many dead on the lower level?"

"Eight."

"All of them murders?" Jack asked morosely.

"Yes. However, there is no telling if it was Daniel."

"York." Jack rolled his eyes. "Who the hell is this guy?"

"Not really sure, Sir. All I know is that he was not among the dead and the moment the General was told about him he turned pale."

"You think General Hammond knows York?"

"It certainly looked that way to me. He's in his office right now, door locked and orders not to disturb him unless it's an emergency."

"That's not good."

"No." Sam agreed. "In another odd twist it would seem that everyone we have alive has death certificates. It is really starting to look like their story is true."

"Frightening that something like this was going on right under out feet."

Sam took a breath to reply but held it when Daniel stirred in his sleep. Jack and Sam watched him anxiously as his eyes fluttered open. Closing his eyes again Daniel started gingerly rubbing at his bandaged wrists. After a few minutes he forced his eyes open again and stared vacantly at the ceiling.

"Daniel?" Jack asked softly.

Daniel reacted slowly to his name, eventually turning his head in the direction of Jack's voice. Jack and Sam both smiled brightly at their friend, but did not get a response in return. It took a moment for Daniel to bring his far away focus closer in order to inspect the other occupants of the room. He studied Jack and Sam in turn and then simply nodded.

"Jack, Sam, hello." Daniel greeted.

"Hello?" Jack repeated. "That's all you have to say?"

"Yes."

Jack was a little taken aback by this answer and looked at Sam. She just shrugged her shoulders slightly. Daniel started to struggle with sitting up, when he failed Jack got up off the bed he was sitting on to help. He grabbed a few more pillow so that Daniel could sit up with his back against the mound of pillows. Daniel winced in pain once, but other than that his expression didn't change.

"Thank you." Daniel said, sounding insincere.

"Daniel, are you feeling alright?"

"My wrists are painful."

"I know, I kinda meant are you feeling emotionally okay?" Jack rephrased.

Daniel thought about this question for a moment. Sam got up off the bed and came to stand next to Jack with a concerned look on her face. Daniel had a dead look in his eyes that was more disturbing than seeing him in a rage. It took a few minutes, but Daniel came to an answer and nodded to himself.

"I am fine." Daniel replied unconvincingly.

"Do you remember what happened?" Sam asked.

"Yes."

This short answer surprised Sam and Jack. It wasn't like Daniel to be a man of few words. Jack furrowed his brow and sat down on the edge of Daniel's bed. Daniel watched him with little more than polite interest. Jack chose his next words carefully.

"Daniel...what did happen?"

"A group of men under the direction of a remote viewer named York have been experimenting on me. One of their number, a man I know as Adrien, turned on him and injected me with something that sent me into a psychotic rage. I killed nine people, and severely injured York. I believe he escaped with his life. When you arrived I attempted to kill you and then myself. After that my memories become sketchy."

Jack and Sam looked at each other in horror at the cold confession. Daniel had recalled the events as though he was relating the plot of a movie he'd seen. His expression didn't change, he just watched his visitors as though they were strangers. Jack sighed heavily.

"It's probably shock." Jack reasoned. "He's been through a lot."

Jack stole a sideways glance at Daniel. He knew that his friend absolutely hated it when he was talked about in the third person when he was sitting right there. Daniel however did not seem to mind being diagnosed by Jack. Jack was just about to call for Janet when she stepped into the infirmary.

"Janet." Daniel greeted without warmth.

"Daniel, how are you feeling?" Janet smiled brightly.

"My wrists are painful." Daniel replied just as he had to Jack. "I was told that you were dead."

"Dead?" Janet repeated.

"Yes, I was told that I murdered you."

"No, you never even tried to hurt me."

"I can see that now. It must have been a lie."

"Daniel," Jack interrupted "did you believe them when they told you that you had killed her?"

"Yes."

"You're not thrilled to find out that you didn't?"

"No."

"Daniel, what the hell is wrong with you?" Jack demanded.

"My wri..."

"Damn it, I know about your wrists, that's not what I'm talking about here."

"Sir," Janet said softly "I need to speak with Daniel alone for a few minutes."

Jack reined in his flash of temper and nodded. He and Sam left the infirmary. Janet noticed that Daniel didn't watch them go, which was unusual. In all the years she'd been treating him whenever he was capable of watching his friends leave he did so. Right now he wasn't even looking at her, he was just staring at the last point that he'd been looking at.

"Daniel?"

"Yes."

"Can you smile for me?"

Daniel looked at Janet but didn't do anything. Janet encouraged him by smiling herself. After studying her he pulled the corners of his mouth back. It was a smile in form only and it didn't touch his eyes at all.

"Thank you." Janet said. "Daniel, I'm going to give you some names, I want you to tell me your first reaction to them. Understand?"

"Yes."

"Apophis."

"A Goa'uld that we have been fighting." Daniel replied factually.

"What about Sha're?"

"She was my wife, she's dead."

"Melbourn and Claire Jackson?"

"My parents, also dead."

Janet studied Daniel for a moment. He hadn't shown any of the hesitance to speak about his loved ones the way he normally did, nor did he narrow his eyes in automatic disgust when she'd mentioned Apophis. She waited to speak for a full five minutes to see if Daniel would become concerned by her silence. He watched her with the patients of an inanimate object. Janet thought about this before nodding.

"Daniel, do any of these memories elicit an emotional response?"

"No. Should they?"

"Yes, Daniel."

"They are just names."

"Daniel, if I did this..." Janet paused and smiled brightly with a chuckle "what emotion would you say I'm experiencing?"

"Surprise?" Daniel guessed.

"How about this one?"

Janet narrowed her eyes, and curled her lip in an expression of furious anger. Daniel studied her face for a moment. When she relaxed her face he continued to inspect her for an answer.

"Fear." Daniel guessed once more.

"Okay." Janet sighed.

"Janet, I am tired."

"Get some rest."

Daniel nodded and readjusted himself to lay down. Janet waited until he was sleeping soundly before leaving. Jack and Sam were outside in the hallway, having been joined by Teal'c. Jack had been leaning against the wall but he pushed himself off and approached Janet.

"Well?" Jack asked. "What's going on with him?"

"Sir, what you were seeing is known as 'flat affect', an inability to show emotion."

"What?"

"I ran a quick test, an MRI will be needed to prove my suspicions, however, at the moment Daniel is not only incapable of showing emotion, he is also unable to identify it in others."

"Does he feel emotion?" Sam asked.

"I can't say for sure, but I don't think so."

"I don't understand, what is going on?" Jack asked. "It is shell shock?"

"Under normal conditions I'd agree with you about shock. However, in Daniel's case I'm afraid that what has happened is that his emotions were elevated to their extreme for so long that he can no longer be stimulated by normal situations. The chemical receptors in his brain have most likely down regulated to deal with the wash of input in an attempt to protect themselves."

"Like resistance to a drug?" Sam asked.

"Exactly."

"Doc, put this in layman's terms for me." Jack grumbled.

"Daniel is going to live, but I don't know if he'll be able to enjoy it."


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter Forty-one

"Checkmate."

"Damn." Jack grumbled. "Want to play again?"

"No."

"Did you want to play in the first place?"

"No."

"Well what do you want?"

Daniel seemed to truly contemplate this question. He looked around the infirmary with his eyes out of focus despite having his glasses on. Jack was trying to keep his frustration to himself, but he wasn't doing a very good job. Of course Daniel didn't notice Jack's ire so it failed to bother him.

"Well?" Jack asked.

"I can't think of anything."

"You're a real pain in the ass, you know that Daniel?"

"I know you've mentioned that several times in the past hour." Daniel shrugged. "I don't know if it's true or not, but I guess I'll take your word for it."

Jack sighed heavily in defeat. Daniel lost interest in his visitor and stared off into space once again. Janet and Sam came into the infirmary looking concerned. They stepped up to the bed that Daniel was sitting up in. Sam waved her hand across Daniel's gaze and he focused on her. She smiled brightly at him, but he just stared at her.

"Hello, Daniel. How are you doing?"

"Apparently I'm a pain in the ass, although I'm not intentionally hurting anyone."

Jack rolled his eyes. Janet and Sam smirked at Daniel's response. However now that someone wasn't talking directly to him he removed himself from the conversation mentally. Jack pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head before addressing Sam.

"What's the word?"

"General Hammond has been given orders by the President to find York at any cost. We're to dig up the mountain if we have to."

"They really think this wacko is that much of a threat?"

"Think about it, Sir, there is nothing he can't find out. He has all of our secrets and clearly they are for sale to the highest bidder. There is also no knowing what kind of technology he already has access to. From all reports by the people we found alive York has not aged in twenty years."

"If he's so powerful why has he spent the past two decades hiding in a hole in the ground?"

"He's insane." Daniel noted.

It was easy for them to forget that Daniel was in someways paying attention to the conversation, particularly when they looked at him and he wasn't watching them anymore. Jack reached out and waved his hand in front of Daniel's gaze.

"Daniel?"

"Yes."

"Tell us about York." Sam requested.

"He believes that he can run the world and that it will be a better place because of it. He has a need to control every aspect of his life, which is why he spends his time underground watching over everything in an enviroment he can master. He doesn't venture out because he would have no way of controlling those he sees. What he desires more than anything is to have everyone in the world submit to him willingly. Which is why he wanted Sam."

"Me?"

"Yes. He wanted to turn your love to loyalty."

"How do you know all of this?" Jack asked.

"He told me."

"Why didn't you say something earlier?"

"No one asked me."

"Where is he now?" Sam asked.

"I don't know." Daniel replied. "Wherever he is he's watching Sam carefully."

"Why?" Jack asked.

"He'll wait years if that's what it takes."

"Wait for what?"

"A chance to kill her." Daniel answered casually.

"Why Carter?" Jack demanded.

"For being a remote viewer."

"But I don't have that ability anymore."

"He doesn't care. You are a threat, York will kill you the first chance he gets. He'll come for me as well. Or he'll just set off the auto destruct."

"He has access to that?" Jack asked in alarm.

"I don't see any reason for him not to. I'm sure he's just waiting till he's clear of the mountain. You could probably talk him out of it if you offered Sam and I to him."

Daniel suddenly became interested in the splint on his hand and stared at the shiny metal surface. The fact that they could all be killed at any moment didn't affect him. Jack was just about to get truly angry when General Hammond's voice came over the PA asking for Sam and Jack to come to his office. Jack visibly hesitated to leave.

"You two worry about York," Janet said "I'll take care of Daniel. If you want to talk to Ricter he should be stable enough to be woken."

"Thanks." Jack muttered.

Janet watched them leaving, part of her hoping that Daniel would at least say good bye. However his attention was still focused on the sheen on the surface of the splint for his broken hand. Janet walked around to the side of the bed and tapped his shoulder to see if he was startle. Daniel calmly took his attention off his hand and offered it to Janet. She had thought that in the first twenty-four hours that there would have been some recovery, but there was no signs of improvement.

"Daniel, would you mind if we did an MRI?"

"I don't think so. Should I mind?"

"No, I just wanted your permission."

"In that case you have it."

"Thank you." Janet smiled.

When Daniel looked at her a little more intently Janet held her smile. Daniel furrowed his brow in concentration before mimicking her expression. Once again his smile was nothing more than a mechanical muscle motion. Like a parrot repeating a word without knowing the meaning. Once he'd attempted the smile his expression when slack again and he stared at the far wall.

Janet noticed that Daniel's blood work had come back. She picked up the folder on the stand next to his bed and flipped through it. Nothing was particularly striking about his counts which was a good thing. However his white blood cell count was a touch higher than she'd like it to be. Figuring a quick shot of antibiotics couldn't do any harm Janet retrieved a clear bottle of a broad spectrum antibiotic and a sterile needle.

Janet was just going to inject the fluid directly into Daniel's IV and therefore didn't think to tell him what she was doing since there would be no pain. Stepping up to the bedside Janet made the calculation in her head on the dose while drawing the antibiotic. Daniel took his attention away from the wall, looking over at Janet he stiffened with fright. Janet noticed the movement out of the corner of her eye. Pulling the filled needle out of the bottle she looked down at him, surprised to see the emotion on his face.

"Daniel?"

Hearing his name Daniel scrambled off the far side of the bed. Tearing the IVs out of the back of his hand he backed up till he bumped into the next bed. Janet held her hands up in a placating manner, but she still had the syringe in her hand. The Airman on guard stepped forward to intervene. Janet turned her attention to him for a faction of a second to stop him.

Daniel's terror instantly flashed into anger. Seeing his chance Daniel lept over the bed and snatched Janet's hand that held the needle. Snarling with a murderous glint in his eyes he drove her back into the wall. The Airman rushed forward to help Janet. Keeping one hand clamped down on Janet Daniel twisted around and punched him in the face hard enough to break the Airman's nose.

"Daniel, wait..."

Turning back to Janet Daniel viscously back handed her across the face. Knocked nearly senseless Janet barely understood the sudden sharp pain in her chest. Daniel instantly released her and backed away. Janet looked down and found the syringe embedded in her sternum. Not meant to be a cardiac needle it had stuck into the bone and then bent, making it difficult to pull out.

"Help!" Daniel cried. "Help!"

Ignoring the needle in her chest Janet looked up at Daniel. He had gone from fury to panic in seconds. Overwhelmed Daniel dropped to his knees and started dry heaving against his blinding panic. Several more Airmen stormed into the infirmary, but Janet held her hand up to stop them from coming closer. She managed to get the needle out of her chest and threw it to the side where Daniel's wouldn't catch sight of it again.

"Easy, Daniel, it's okay, I'm alright."

Janet risked reaching out and touching his shoulder. Daniel glanced up at her and when he caught sight of the blood staining Janet's shirt he broke down into inconsolable tears. Janet buttoned her lab coat closed to hide the blood. Coaxing Daniel to look at her again he no longer saw anything to trigger his overly emotional response. Like turning off a light switch he lost interest in his surroundings once again.

"Daniel?"

"Yes."

"Can you stand up for me?"

"Yes."

Daniel got to his feet, but he didn't help Janet do the same. She got up on her own and lead him back over to the bed. Daniel peacefully sat back down on the bed. Once in bed he started searching around the edges of it for something.

"Daniel, what are you looking for?"

"Restraints." He replied simply. "I can not be trusted."

"You remember what just happened?"

"Yes."

Janet didn't want to have Daniel restrained, but she knew there was no choice. Any time he came across something emotional enough to set him off it was going to be the same strong reaction. Like a bomb when it came to an explosion it was either all or none. She expected him to be thrown into some sort of emotional state by the restraint itself, but he remained passive. With his wrists in such poor condition she had the leather cuffs tightened around his upper arms instead. He was still allowed a small amount of motion and this seemed to make a difference.

"I'm sorry about this, Daniel."

"Don't be." Daniel turned his head to look at Janet. "I'm not sorry for any of it...but I know that I should be."

"That's a start."

Daniel nodded, then turned away to look up at the ceiling. Moments after Jack came storming into the infirmary. Janet assumed that he had heard about what had just happened with Daniel. However he didn't even give Daniel a glance, he was deep in a heated argument with Sam. Or rather he was having a heated argument at her. The pair stalked up to Janet.

"Doc!" Jack barked. "Take some damn sense into your friend here, cause I can't get through to her."

"Sir?" Janet asked nervously. "What's going on?"

"Carter's been ordered to..."

"It wasn't an order..." Sam interrupted.

"You said yourself that you have no choice," Jack snarled "that makes it an order in my book. Why couldn't you keep your mo..."

"Wait, slow down." Janet held her hands up to calm Jack. "What are you two talking about?"

"I've been asked to try and find York by remote viewing."

"But you don't have that ability anymore," Janet protested "you said so yourself."

"I could get it back, if I use the formula Ricter gave you."

"Sam...you can't..."

"I've already agreed to."

"Worse than that," Jack huffed "it was her idea."

"Sam?"

"I think it's worth the risk."

"I think you're insa..." Jack trailed off and looked over at Daniel. "What the hell happened here?"

"Um...well, Daniel..."

"I attacked Janet." Daniel finished.

"Oh for cry'in out loud..."


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter Forty-two

"Don't you understand?" Ricter growled. "It's already too late, you gave him too much time."

"Please, Dr. Ricter," Janet pressed "I need to know how much adrenaline is in this mix so that I can counteract it."

"All you are doing is ensuring that Samantha Carter's remaining hours are unpleasant ones."

"Are you going to help us or not?" Jack spat.

"Five parts per thousand." Ricter grumbled.

"That's five times the recommended dose!" Janet hissed. "I can't believe it didn't kill Daniel instantly."

"I studied Daniel enough to know his limits."

"You sick fu..."

"Sir." Janet interrupted. "Thank you, Dr. Ricter."

"For all the good it will do you."

Much like Daniel Ricter turned away from his guests and stared at the far wall vacantly. They had asked if there was family that they could contact for him, but when he'd learned that he'd been unconscious for twenty-four hours he insisted that there was no point in searching for them. In the end he had decided to die not knowing what had become of them. Ricter was restrained as well, but it wasn't to keep him from killing someone else, it was to prevent his suicide.

Jack glared at Ricter for a moment, looking for all the world like he wanted to assist in the man's desire for death. Janet nudged Jack to distract him from his murderous thoughts. She asked to see him out in the hall and after one last withering look at Ricter Jack joined her in the hall.

"Sir, I'm worried about how much adrenaline is in this stuff." Janet said seriously.

"I thought you said you could counteract it."

"Yes and no. Endorphins are the body's natural defense against adrenaline, hence the 'runner's high'. The closest drug I have to natural endorphins is morphine."

"Morphine, great stuff, helped me through a lot of tough times."

"I know, but Major Carter will need...a lot of if."

"How much?"

"Under normal circumstances: enough to kill."

"This is insane."

"I agree." Janet sighed. "Beyond the chemical causing her rage there will be a clash of two opposite drugs in high enough amounts to bring down a race horse."

"I'm still doing it." Sam's voice suddenly joined them.

Jack and Janet both startled as if guilty for their conversation. When they hadn't returned to medical Sam had left to hunt them down. She flashed them a bright confidant smile that seemed truly genuine. Jack wondered if it was the last time anyone would see real emotion in her expression. Janet couldn't give them any good guesses on the risks of Sam ending up like Daniel.

"Carter..."

"Sir, General Hammond is working with the top Military, Black Ops, and the FBI right now looking for York and there hasn't even been a whiff of him. I believe in how dangerous he is and if there is anything I can do to stop him, I'm going to do it."

"Damn you, and your noble, self-sacrificing ways." Jack shook his head sadly.

"You'd do the same thing if you were in my position."

"I'd do it, but for entirely different reasons."

"The decision is made," Sam said firmly "let's get this done."

Janet looked to Jack as if he could do something to stop this, however he was just as helpless as she was. Sighing heavily Janet lead the pair back to medical. They had decided that the best place to run the experiment was in the medical observation room. It had everything they would need if anything went wrong.

Teal'c was waiting for them in medical looking uncharacteristically uneasy. Sam seemed to be the only one unconcerned about what was about to happen. She jumped up onto the bed and used the hydrolics so that she could sit up rather than lay flat. Reaching down she secured the two leather cuffs around her own ankles. She also brought the lap belt over and tightened a cuff around her left wrist.

"I'll need help with this one, guys." Sam said shaking her right hand.

"I'll do it." Jack sighed. "You sure about this, Carter?"

"Ask me again and I'm going to get angry before we even start."

"Right."

Janet rolled over a tray that held a dozen drawn syringes Half of them were marked with green tape and the other half with red. Sam looked at the small insulin needles and noticed that each of the red ones only contained a quarter of a cc of fluid while the green ones held a full one.

"Is that going to be enough?" Sam asked.

"With the dangerous amount of adrenaline in the formula it will take a full cc of morphine to counter a quarter of the mix. The idea of giving you six full ccs of morphine is criminal, if you don't have your remote viewing by the time we get through one and a half ccs of the formula then it's not going to happen."

"What did Ricter give Daniel?"

"Four." Janet admitted.

"Then I should be able to handle at least three."

"Daniel should be dead, it is a miracle of nature and science that he's not. This is as much as we can do."

"Okay."

Rather than trying to find a new vein each time Janet set up an IV catheter in the back of Sam's hand. Janet swallowed hard and picked up the first red syringe and then hesitated. It was impossible to know which drug to use first. Hoping that it would do less cardiac damage Janet put down the red needle and opted to give the morphine the first time around.

"Janet, if it is one thing patients don't like to see it's their doctors hesitating." Sam smiled nervously.

"Sorry, all of my medical training tells me not to do this."

"Something about 'do no harm'?"

"Exactly."

"There's a good chance we're all dead if we don't do this, so no harm done."

Janet looked at Sam doubtfully but continued with the morphine injection anyway. The effect on Sam was instantaneous. She had started so show a touch of nervousness, but all of that vanished now. Smiling like a friendly drunk she giggled. The heart rate monitor started beeping slower as the drug took hold.

"If we are going to turn back, Sir," Janet said to Jack "now is the time."

"The time to turn back was when we first stepped on Bangkok, it's far too late now."

Janet nodded and picked up the first red needle. With the dangerous chemical in her blood Sam gasped and tried to free her wrist from the leather restraint. Grinding her teeth together she weld her eyes shut, still jerking at the cuffs. It only took her a few seconds to regain control and she looked calmly at Janet.

"I need more, no morphine this time." Sam insisted. "It takes the edge off, but I need that edge."

"Is it working at all?" Jack asked.

"Yes, I can feel everyone's heartbeat in this room." Sam smiled slightly. "Sir, you need to calm down, your heart's going to explode."

"I'm a touch nervous."

"Have some morphine."

"Carter..."

"It's not her fault, Sir." Janet interrupted. "Sam's right, she has too much morphine, it's affecting her more than the formula."

With the second injection Sam lost her brush with humor. She fought harder against the restraints that kept her down. When Jack reached out and touched the back of his hand to her cheek to check for fever she snapped at him and almost bit him. However, once again she was able to control the rage that had seeped into her veins.

"This isn't working, you can't give me so much time to recover. Just give me the rest of it, this is never going to get us anywhere."

"Sa..."

"Do it." Jack sighed. "There is no sense in doing this half way."

"Thank you, Sir." Sam said seriously.

"Okay, but if your heart rate goes above two hundred I'm starting the morphine again."

Sam accepted this limitation and closed her eyes. It was a lot easier to sense others when she couldn't see into the room that she was sitting in. The injections were hot in her blood, she could feel them trace up her veins. Once they hit her heart it started pounding hard each time. Sam jerked away from a light contact against her skin.

"Don't touch me!" Sam roared angrily.

Jack muttered some sort of apology but Sam wasn't paying attention. At first her only thought was freedom. Screaming at the top of her lungs she tore at the strong restraints. An overwhelming desire to cause pain washed over her and when she couldn't injury anyone else she turned on herself and started chewing on her bottom lip. The heart monitor began wailing a warning as her heart started stumbling against the fast pace rhythm. Sam fought hard as someone held her hand down.

The morphine injection that quickly followed cleared her thoughts slightly. Blood was dripping down from her lip, but she stopped any further self mutilation. She did however snapped at Janet when she tried to clean away the blood. Luckily Sam ended up biting down of a piece of gauze rather than Janet's hand.

Spitting out the gauze Sam tried to focus on viewing. She could already sense every heartbeat on the Base. When she concentrated on looking out her senses were assaulted with the images of a hundred places, none of which made any sense. Struggling to bring the visions under control she concentrated on finding Daniel since she'd made a connection with him before.

Daniel was still in bed, peacefully staring at nothing. One of the nurses tried to interest him in something to eat but he just kept turning his head away from her. When she insisted he broke into a rage. Screaming curses in several languages he battled with the restraints. His out burst didn't last long and he went back to his vacant staring.

Sam shook her head to try and clear it and focused on finding General Hammond. He was in his office with the President. Both men looked exhausted. Hammond was pouring over the latest report of the men not finding York. Suddenly he pushed the report away.

"This is our fault, Henry." Hammond growled. "We created this mess."

"You and I fought to keep York safe."

"We didn't do nearly enough. Have you found any information on the original division that took him?"

"Nothing, York has had it all erased and we can only assume anyone who knew personally has been killed." The President replied. "What about Major Carter."

"I should be with her right now." Hammond sighed. "However we need to keep contact with this formula down to a minimum."

"Do you think it will work?"

"I don't know. Even if she does find him, what's to stop him from knowing that? How can you trap someone who can see your every move?"

"You don't trap him, you smoke him out and take him down."

"He was a good kid." Hammond whispered. "He didn't deserve what happened to him."

"Deserve it or not, we need him dead."

"I know."

Sam was surprised by the hurt in Hammond's voice. It angered her that he hadn't confessed to knowing York long ago and she started to wonder if he could be trusted. Pushing that thought out of her mind Sam returned to focusing on the task at hand. She had seen York in one of her visions of Daniel so she brought his image into her thoughts.

Her vision seemed to blur as Hammond and the President faded from view. York appeared, he was laying back in a large reclining chair with his eyes closed in what looked like sleep. Daniel had mentioned injuring York, but he held no signs of wounds or pain. The room he was in was small, but luxurious. The floor was covered in a plush red oriental rug, the walls had been painted black that held gently glowing lights. With a mini bar and a table that had cigars on it the place had the feel of a Gentleman's Club. York opened his eyes slowly. Sitting up in his chair it looked to Sam as though he looked directly at her.

"Samantha." York said with a smile. "I've been waiting for you."

Sam jerked back and lost her connection with York. Jack and Janet were hovering near her, watching with concern. Their lack of faith in her irritated her and she curled her lip at them in disgust that was not her own. When she started fantasizing about killing them she reined her emotions back in and focused once again on York. She had not expected him to notice her the way he had. Even now as she looked in on him he looked at her.

"Don't look so surprised, Samantha, I can see you seeing me. I know you can hear me, say my name."

"York, you bastard." Sam said out loud.

"Watch your language, your friends can hear your half of our conversation."

"I don't care!"

"I'm sure you don't, however, now that I know I have your attention you are going to do me a little favour."

"I'm only looking at you so that you can be hunted down like a dog!" Sam snarled.

"Now, now, keep that temper in check. Although you are much better than Daniel at restraining yourself. Of course you have better control over all of your emotions, don't you?"

"I am going to personally tear your heart out and eat it."

"Or not." York chuckled.

Sam yanked at her restraints in an attempt to get at York. York smiled and shook his head sadly. Realizing that she was falling into his game Sam started to try and figure out where exactly he was. There was no hint to his location from what she could see in the room. She tried to turn her vision to the other side of the door, but there was nothing but darkness.

"Don't bother, you can't look outside this room. It took me years to develop that talent." York chuckled. "You're new to remote viewing so I'll explain a few things. You can focus in on anyone within your range, or you can focus in on a known place easily enough. However, it is much more difficult to focus in on a person and then explore any further than what that person can see. You also can not look into the past, believe me I've tried."

"I will find you!"

"Right, whatever. Back to my favour. I need or rather I _want_ Daniel dead. He's caused me a lot of personal insult, and..."

"You'll never get to him!" Sam spat as her anger started to take over again. "I don't care how much money or power you have, he's safe here."

"Everyone has a price." York purred. "But I don't need to pay anyone to kill Daniel because you're going to do it for me, and then..."

"What?!"

"I said: 'You are going to kill Daniel'."

"Never!"

"Hear me out. You are going to kill him, I don't care how, and then you are going to commit suicide."

"You really are insane." Sam hissed.

"Maybe." York shrugged. "That's besides the point though, you will do this."

"No."

"No?" York repeated sounding disappointed.

"Of course 'no'!"

"That's a real shame, I kind of like your brother." York said casually. "He's brave, just like you."

"Mark?" Sam asked in shock.

"I know you two don't talk much, but he is still family."

"Leave him out of this!" Sam screamed.

"Too late." York grined. "I already have him."

"No..."

"See for yourself."

"No. I don't believe you, the poli..."

"The police have been trying to get in touch with you for hours, sadly they don't exactly have a 'work' number that they can call. But you don't have to take my word for it, seek him out for yourself."

Sam snapped her eyes open, her heart pounding so hard she could feel it in her ears. She glanced around the medical room again, yet part of her could still see York. It was hard on her to be looking at two places at once and she weld her eyes shut to remove the image of Jack and Janet staring at her in panic. She brought her attention back to York, but he was just waiting for her to check on his story.

Fear had crept into her rage and was threatening to take over. Swallowing hard Sam brought her brother to the focus of her thoughts in an attempt to locate him. At first she tried to imagine him at home where he should be, but it didn't work. She could visualize him there, but she knew that she wasn't truly viewing the truth.

Removing her notions on where he should be Sam was able to connect to where he was. Tears streaked down Sam's face as her brother came into view. Huddled in the corner of a large wire crate that barely had enough room to sit up in Mark held his wife close to his chest. She was sobbing uncontrollable while he vacantly stroked her hair. Blood ran down the side of his face and one of his eyes was nearly shut from the swelling of an angry bruise. They were in a dank nondescript room that held no windows.

"It's going to be okay, Laura." Sam's brother whispered. "It's going to be okay..."

"Oh I doubt that." A deep voice chuckled.

Mark cringed and held Laura tighter as a large man stepped out of the shadows. Sam hadn't even noticed the two other men in the room at first. They circled the makeshift cage like sharks, eventually both kneeling down to stare at the couple. Mark tried to hide his fear, but there was no stopping the trembling.

"That's a nice piece of tail you've got there." The first man chuckled.

"Wha...what do you want?" Mark demanded. "Who are you? There must be some mistake..."

"No mistake, Mr. Carter."

"Please, whatever you want," Mark begged "please, just let my wife go, please!"

"Actually my friend and I here are about to play a few rounds of poker to see who gets to...well 'poke her' first."

"No! God, no!" Mark cried as tears slipped down his bloodied face. "Please, let us go! Why are you doing this to us?!"

"It's our job."

The second man's cell phone suddenly went off. He reached into his pocket and answered it. Mark hid his face in his wife dark brown hair and broke down into shuddering tears. Laura's weeping had turned to an unproductive dry heaving. The man on the phone listened to the line for a moment and then nodded. He took the phone away from his ear and looked around the room.

"Samantha," he called to the room "it's for you. York says if your still watching he'd like to talk to you."

"Sam..." Mark gasped.

Sam was shaking hard, she could feel Jack's hands on her face, trying to get her to snap back into reality. She was even aware of more morphine being pushed into her blood. However all she could see was the look of shocked betrayal on her brother's face. He had always blamed their father's military career for their mother's death and in the present day his greatest fear was that somehow Sam's decision to enter the Air Force would tear their family apart once again. That nightmare was now his reality.

Feeling tears coursing down her cheeks Sam turned her mind's eye back to York. The look on his face was one of sympathy. When he felt she was watching him again he shook his head sadly. Sam was too terrified and furious to speak, she just cried out in anguished mixed with frustrated anger. York waited for her to finish.

"Let them go!" Sam cried. "They have children, you can't do this!"

"I know, left his two brats behind so that you could explain to them why their parents never came home." York explained callously. "Of course if you kill Daniel and yourself you won't have to, for a number of reasons."

"York, pleas..."

"You have two hours...I'll be watching."


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter Forty-three

"Carter?"

"What time is it?"

"What?"

"The time," Sam repeated urgently "I need to know what time it is."

"It's...uh...around nineteen hundred." Jack checked his watch. "What the hell happened? Are you okay?"

"Fine." Sam tugged at the cuffs. "Let me go."

"Doc?"

"Her heart rate is back down," Janet answered "I think the morphine we gave her cut back on the anger as well. We were worried about you there for a second, Sam."

"I'm fine." Sam repeated.

"Did you find York?" Jack asked as he unbuckled the cuffs.

"Yes and no."

"It sounded like you two were talking."

"We were." Sam answered in as few words as possible.

"Where is he?"

"I don't know, I could only see into the room where he was. He could see me while I was seeing him."

"So...does that mean he's watching us right now?"

"Yes."

Jack looked around as though he was going to spot York somewhere in the room. With one hand free Sam quickly went to work freeing her other hand while Janet helped her out at the ankles. Her mind racing Sam looked around and spotted what she needed. Pretending to just go over and wash her face in the small sink Sam also snatched the small glass bottle on the counter and slipped it into her pocket.

"Where do we go from here?" Jack asked.

"I don't know, Sir." Sam lied. "I need shower though."

"Carter, wait." Jack reached out and grabbed Sam's arm to keep from leaving. "I thought I head you mention your brother. Is everything okay?"

"My brother?" Sam asked with mock confusion. "No, you must have misunderstood. After all you could only hear half of the conversation."

"You said something about children."

"Sir, please, just let me go." Sam said softly.

"Do you know what you're doing?"

"Don't I always?"

Jack nodded and released her. Janet looked like she was about to protest just letting Sam walk out of medical but Jack held his hand up to keep her at bay. Sam was grateful that Jack wasn't forcing her to explain. Ricter had been right, it was difficult to plot against someone who was watching your every move. If you were going to do it, you were on your own.

Walking swiftly through the hallways Sam made a bee line towards the infirmary. She had told Jack that she knew what she was doing, but she wasn't so sure. All she really knew right now was that she had to find a way to get her brother and his wife back safely. Thinking about them she was forced to brush away more tears.

Sam had wanted more than anything to tell Jack what was happening. However, anything she said would only make it more difficult for her to fool York. She needed him to believe she was desperate and alone on this. Jack hadn't really been asking her if she knew what she was doing, he was asking her if she was absolutely certain that she didn't want his help. She appreciated that he accepted the fact that she couldn't take the offer.

It was unusually quite at the SGC with most of the staff devoted in some way to finding York. Sam knew that it was hopeless for them to even try. Every rat makes sure that he has more than one way out of his hole. Even if they could find him it certainly wasn't going to happen in the next two hours and she had no doubt in her mind that York would make good on all his threats. Sam paused outside the infirmary door and allowed tears to slip down her face.

"You win." Sam sighed out loud. "Daniel's half dead anyway, and I can't raise my brother's children on my own."

Knowing York had heard the confession Sam walked into the infirmary. Daniel was calm once again, his blank stare fell on Sam for a moment, but then moved on. There was a new Airman on guard since Daniel had broken the nose of the other one. Sam went directly to the Airman.

"Colonel O'Neill needs to see you right away."

"I can not leave the infirmary, Ma'am."

Sam reached behind him to the phone on the wall and punched in the number down to the medical quarantine she'd just been in.

"O'Neill." Jack answered.

"Sir, you need to see Airman Ryans right away, right?"

"Uh...right." Jack played along.

"Please inform him of this and give him permission to leave the infirmary." Sam handed the phone to the flustered Airman.

"Ryans?" Jack asked.

"Yes, Sir?"

"Apparently I need to see you right away, you have full permission to leave the infirmary and come down to quarantine. Right now."

"Yes, Sir." Ryans handed the phone back to Sam.

"Thank you, Sir." Sam said into the phone.

"No problem." Jack replied. "You _sure_ you know what you're doing?"

"Absolutely."

"Okay, I trust you."

"I know."

Sam hung up the phone. Her response to Jack's last statement was not something she'd normally say to him, it was just one more hint for him that she didn't think York would catch. All she really needed right now was not to be stopped. Her plan was risky, but it was the only thing she should think of. Going over to the cabinets Sam made a beg deal out of searching out a weapon. She picked up a package that contained a sterile scalpel and ripped it open. She also slipped two syringes in her pocket.

Scalpel in hand she took a deep breath before turned around to face Daniel. He was watching her, but without any apprehension or curiosity. She was making noise and so she had attracted his short attention span. Without emotions to drive his interest few things in his surrounding warranted inspection. When she walked over to him she forced a smile, Daniel mimicked the awkward expression.

"I'm so sorry, Daniel." Sam sighed. "I've thought about it, and there's no stopping York."

"No, there probably isn't. He's alarmingly powerful."

"He's forcing me to kill you."

"I'm not surprised, I am a thorn in his side. A painful one at that."

"I'm sorry about this."

"Don't be. I don't care."

Sam did nothing to stop her tears. Daniel watched her cry and for a moment it looked like he was trying to imitate her. She leaned in and put the scalpel to his throat. Daniel tilted his head back trustingly which Sam was extremely grateful for, her plan would not have worked out if he had chosen this moment to fly into a rage or freeze up in fear. Sam had already come in close and now she invaded his space even further. First she gently kissed his cheek and then she put her lips right to Daniel's ear. She pretended to cry harder on his shoulder.

"If I put you in a rage," Sam said in barely a whisper "could you hurt York?"

"Yes. I have been every time."

"I thought so. I need you to put him in agony."

Daniel nodded slightly.

"No...no not like this." Sam loudly as she pulled back and threw the scalpel away. "You deserve a better death."

"If you say so." Daniel shrugged.

"I stole the morphine bottle from Janet, I was going to use on myself, but I can just use my gun."

"Whatever makes you happy, Sam."

Sam knew that just seeing the syringe was going to set Daniel off, but she also knew it wouldn't keep him angry for long. Everything had hinged on the fact that York had first said that he 'needed' Daniel dead. Sam had gambled that it meant that Daniel still had a hold on him. Pulling the bottle of formula out Sam drew several ccs into the needle.

Daniel had reacted to the sight of the needle, but he didn't get truly murderous until Sam had pushed the clear fluid into his blood. Daniel balled up his fists and fought like a lion against the restraints. However when he looked up at Sam he managed a genuine smile. The smile was actually frightening, it held a sadistic gleam that she didn't associate with Daniel.

"I've got him, Sam."

"Hold him as long as you can."

"Just keep me angry," Daniel panted "I'm building a tolerance to this stuff."

Sam drew another full syringe and left it stuck in the IV line so it could be used quickly. She ran over to the phone and slammed the number for medical into it. Jack picked up before it had barely rung.

"Sir, I need you, Teal'c, and Janet here now."

"On our way."

Jack didn't even bother hanging up the phone he just dropped it. He didn't have to tell Janet and Teal'c to come along, they followed him automatically. When they got to the infirmary Sam had already hauled another set of restraints out of the cabinets. Jack glanced at Daniel who was looking like he'd tear the entire SGC apart if he got loose.

"Carter, what's going on?"

"Daniel can still cause York pain if he's emotionally high enough. He's keeping York from going anywhere while I hunt the son of a bitch down."

"I thought you said you could only see the room he's in."

"That's all I could see, but this time you're going to give me twice as much of the formula as before and I will find him."

"Sa..." Janet started.

"Janet, he has my brother and his wife. He's going to kill them. Cassie will be next, none of us, no one we know, no one we care for, will be safe until he's caught."

Janet didn't argue further. She checked Daniel's condition quickly while Jack and Teal'c helped Sam tether herself down to the next bed over. When Daniel started to lose his grip on York he cried out for more of the drug and against Janet's better judgment she did.

"Hurry," Sam said urgently "even once I find him Daniel needs to hold him long enough for us to get to him."

"Carter..." Jack paused "good luck."

Sam smiled and then threw her head back as Janet filled her blood with a dangerous amount of the mix. The first thing Sam saw when the initial shock wore off was York curled up on the floor screaming. He arched his back and cried out in anguish repeatedly as Daniel willfully tortured him. Sam turned her vision attention away from him and to the door. She mentally threw herself against it in a blind attempt to see past it.

It wasn't until York himself forced himself to crawl towards the door that she began to see hope for getting through it. Trembling uncontrollably York couldn't get to his feet, he was on his hands and knees pushing against the door as well. For a full minute he dry heaved against the wash of pain. He eventually managed to reach up and turn the handle, causing him to tumble out and into a concrete hall.

"I know you're watching Samantha!" York roared. "It won't do you any good! You'll never find me! And I'm not going to kill your family...I'm going to make you beg me to let you do it!"

Sam paid no attention to York's threats, she just tried to find a way to visualize herself running down the hallway. Like hitting a force field when she strayed to far from York she could go no further. She jolted back into reality as York and Daniel both screamed. When she went back she returned to her brother's side. He was kicking at one of the men who was trying to pry his wife away from him. Everyone froze when a blood curdling cry rang out.

"What the fu..."

The man trying to get Laura was cut off as Mark landed a solid kick on his jaw. The second thug hauled his injured partner out of the small cage and locked it once more. Sam followed them out into the hall and gasped as she caught sight of York thrashing on the floor. They were all in the same place.

Sam's blood started to boil at the thought of her brother being that close to York. Lost in her rage for a moment she lost sight of everyone. She turned her head and glanced over at Daniel. He was having trouble breathing and was gulping for air like a fish out of water. Jack noticed that Sam was watching.

"Carter, is this working?"

"Yes. Hang on Daniel."

Daniel didn't reply, he just demanded more of the drug even as his heart was threatening to fail. Sam closed her eyes and slipped back into York's world. One of the men had lifted him up and they were carrying him down the hall. From the noises he was making Sam suddenly felt that Daniel might end up killing York on the spot.

Her hopes for that outcome were dashed when the second man opened up one of the doors along the short hallway. They stepped inside and Sam found herself staring at a Goa'uld sarcophagus. York's lack of injuries made sense, and in someways so did his revolting personality. He was still screaming like a cat being fed into a woodchipper. Unsure of what else to do for their boss the men were forcing him in the Goa'uld healing device.

Sam panicked, afraid that York would be freed from Daniel's spell. In the heat of her panic the view jumped. She was outside the room, but she was with York once more. Suddenly he was gravely injured. His left arm hung shredded and useless at his side, blood smeared his face and it looked as though his right eye had actually been gouged out.

Confused Sam looked around. She recognized the room, it was the one with the glass walled prison in it. Concentrating on York again she watched him type a code into the computer. She memorized the key stroke, feeling that they were important.

Sam looked up as the glass wall slid up into the ceiling. Out in the hall she could hear gun shots. York dragged himself over to the prison as the metal grated floor along with a two foot steel base also began to rise. Under it was a colourful panel that he pounded a code into. The floor gave way and didn't stop. The whole circular section of the floor continued to descend before opening up into an all too familiar hallway.

Understanding what she was seeing Sam jumped her vision once more. After seeing everything she needed Sam opened her eyes. Daniel was still working hard to keep York captive, but he wasn't going to last much longer. It didn't matter now, Sam had seen both entrances to York's panic room.

"I got him!" Sam cried. "I know where York is..."

Sam felt the edges of her consciousness suddenly slipping from her. She hadn't realized how much it had taken to view York. She couldn't even imagine what it was doing to Daniel. Before she passed out she told Jack everything she'd seen. She gave him the keys to get to York, and warned him that there was another escape route though a five mile tunnel. With men still in the previously hidden levels it shouldn't take long to get to him. Having related absolutely every detail she could recall she gave in to unconsciousness.

Hours later Sam woke with a pounding headache. Opening her eyes she stared at the ceiling for a while. Jack was suddenly in her vision. She tried to reach up to see if he was real, but she found herself still restrained.

"Hey, Carter, you with us?"

"Yes."

"How are you feeling?"

"My head hurts."

Jack looked at her anxiously and waited for her to say something. When it became clear that she wasn't going to speak he did.

"Don't you want to know what happened?" Jack asked.

"I guess."

"We got him."

"Him?"

"York."

"Right."

"Is that all you have to say? 'Right'?"

"Yes."

"Right." Jack sighed sadly. "He is locked up and tied down right now, already deep in sarcophagus withdrawal. Doc doesn't think he's going to live. The sarcophagus that he was using short circuited somehow when he was in there with Daniel hurting him. Were trying to fix it..."

"You won't be able to."

"No, probably not." Jack admitted and then sighed heavily. "Carter, how did you pull this off?"

"I did something that York couldn't...I saw into the past."

"Of course." Jack looked around the late night infirmary. "We also found your brother and his wife."

"Mark never wants to see me again." Sam said rather than asked.

"Just give him some time."

"No. He will never forgive me for this. I can't blame him, I wouldn't forgive me either."

The flat tone with which Sam delivered this news put Jack even further on edge. He glanced over at where Daniel was sleeping and for a moment his own expression went blank. Sam stared at him, waiting for him to speak again. Jack turned his attention back to her. He reached out and gently touched her cheek.

"Carter," Jack paused "do you think you could smile for me?"

Sam thought about this odd question for a moment and tried to comply with it. At first she just ended up mimicking the worried expression on Jack's face. It took her a few minutes to realize that she didn't really know what Jack wanted her to do or why.

"No, Sir...I don't think I can."


	44. Chapter 44

Chapter Forty-four

"Alright you two, listen up. I've spoken to Teal'c and he informs me that the position of 'strong, silent' team member has been taken. So..." Jack trailed off and sighed. "Carter stop crying, Daniel pay attention."

Jack hung his head, it was pointless to try and talk to the pair but he kept hoping something would change. Sam had become emotionally labile, crying or laughing for no reason. Sometimes you could even see the frustration in her eyes as she laughed uncontrollably at nothing. She had not proven to be dangerous so was only under guard rather than restrained.

Daniel was still more prone to just losing interest in his surroundings. However, when triggered he was still violent and unpredictable. Sometimes the oddest things or phrases set him off, but beyond those bursts he was docile. He had been offered a quarantine room, but asked to remain restrained in fear that he'd find a way to hurt someone else if given any freedom.

"Sir?" Sam asked as she rubbed away the last of her tears.

"Yes, Carter?"

"You look like you need some sleep."

"Yeah." Jack nodded.

"You should go get some, there is nothing you can do for Daniel and I."

"My company isn't comforting?" Jack tried to tease.

"No."

Jack flashed Sam a hurt look, but she continued to stare at him blankly. He waited a moment before getting to his feet. Sam had meant what she had said, without emotions she couldn't be comforted, plus she had no motivation to lie. Any question posed to her she would answer with brutal honesty.

Leaving the infirmary Jack paused as Sam began giggling. Shaking his head sadly he went down to the medical containment observation room. Janet was leafing through a thick chart with a concerned look on her face. Jack glanced through the glass which looked down on York.

Fighting against his restrains York was dripping in sweat. He cried out weakly as he tried to arch his back. Jack remembered back to when Daniel was in York's exact position. It had made him sick to watch Daniel suffer like this. He felt like he could watch York writhe for days.

"How's he doing?" Jack asked without much interest.

"Not good." Janet replied. "All I can really do is try and make him comfortable."

"Why would you do that?"

"Because I'm a doctor."

"Then you're not qualified to work on him." Jack growled.

"Sir?"

"He's an animal, he needs a veterinarian to come euthainize him. Or maybe just a good old fashion shot gun, best way to put down a rabid dog."

"I can hear you!" York screamed.

Jack glanced out of the elevated one-way mirror at York. He was staring up at the ceiling, but it was obvious that his 'sight' was elsewhere.

"Yeah?" Jack shrugged. "So?"

"You're all fools to kill me!"

"We're not killing you, we simply have no way to help you."

"I can help Samantha Carter and Daniel Jackson." York said calmly.

"How?"

"Save me, don't let me die, let me go, and I'll show you."

"I already told you: that is out of our hands."

"You have friends, favours you could call in, the Asg..."

"If I knew how to call the Asgard I'd have them here to fix everything without your help." Jack countered.

"Please..." York whimpered.

"Please?" Jack interrupted.

"Yes, please stop this."

"How many times did Daniel use that same plea on you? What about Carter's brother, how many times do you think he said 'please' while those men you hired tried to take his wife from him? What about all those men and women you held prisoner?" Jack demanded. "How many times has the word 'please' bounced off your stone heart?"

"Countless."

"So why should I listen to it?"

"Because you're a better man than I am."

"Don't bet on that."

Jack turned to leave the room before he got angry enough to kill York himself. York thrashed against the restraints. He didn't look angry anymore, his fury had turned to desperation.

"Wait! Don't leave!" York called. "Give me your word that I'll be set free if I live, and I'll tell you how to save your friends."

"Doc, what are the chances that he'll live?"

"Ten percent at best."

"Sorry, York, unless you have a less than zero percent chance of living I don't have the authority to promise you something like that."

"You don't think I can help them." York said.

"No, I don't."

"You're right." York sighed. "For what it's worth: I...I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything that's ever happened to me and for everything I've ever done in return."

"Why does it sound like you mean that?"

"Because I do."

"Why?"

"I'm starting to remember what it's like to be the one being tortu..."

York stopped suddenly as a violent spasm took over his frame. Janet was lightning fast and bolted out of observation and into the room holding York. Jack followed her, in less of a rush. The heart monitor was wailing as York's heart rate spiked. Janet injected him with several drugs that calmed his heart and muscle contractions. When she was done York was left struggling for each breath.

"That was a major seizure, Sir." Janet reported.

"He's not going to make it, is he?"

"I don't know, Sir."

"Is there anything we can do? Anything at all?"

"I've done all I can."

Jack growled in frustration and looked at York. He was scared, tears slid out of the corners of his aqua eyes. Jack automatically took a hold of York's hand to comfort him. York jerked in surprise at first but squeezed Jack's hand in return. He looked up at Jack as he started to tremble again.

"I'm sorry for what I said earlier, York." Jack said. "No one deserves to die like this, but we honestly can't do more."

"Nor can I. If anyone can save them...Ricter can." York whispered. "He was always my best. Tell him I'm sorry, his family..."

"What about them?" Jack pressed when York didn't continue.

"Safe...I didn't have time to kill them."

"You had plans to?"

"Yes." York admitted and then knit his brow. "What happened to me? How could I..."

Janet forced Jack to take a step back as York went into another violent seizure. Jack watched as Janet did everything she could to control the convulsions without much success. Several of the nurses on staff had been called in by the automatic system set up in the heart monitor.

When York flat lined the crash team worked hard to bring him back. After several tried Janet stood back and called off the resuscitation. There was no use. Even in death his eyes seemed to be looking at something. Janet turned to Jack and shook her head sadly.

"He's dead."

"At least he showed some humanity before he died." Jack said as he turned to leave.

"Where are you going?"

"To see Ricter."

Jack stalked down the hallway to where Ricter was being kept on suicide watch. He looked a lot like Daniel, just staring blankly at the far wall. Jack came in and stood directly in front of him to no effect.

"Ricter your famil..."

"I already know they are dead." Ricter whispered.

"What now you're a remote viewer as well?"

"No, but Yor..."

"York is dead."

"Dead?"

"Yes, and more than that he assured me that your family is alive and well."

The effect on Ricter was immediate. Becoming agitated he tried to get out of bed. His broken shoulder however caused him too much pain and kept him down. He looked up at Jack and started to search his expression to see if there was any lie there.

"My daughter..."

"We are going to find her and I promise you that we'll reunite you."

"The others?"

"We're already working on getting them home." Jack assured.

"Yor..."

"Don't worry about him. What I need from you is help getting Daniel and Carter back."

"Bring me everything you have on them." Ricter said eagerly. "Bring me a laptop that is hooked into the SGC's systems so I can get to my own work."

"You got it."

Jack went to Janet and got Sam and Daniel's medical charts to give to Ricter. She had been running some tests on them, but wasn't sure about what to do next. Working with a different understanding of the mind from his own research Ricter started to comb through both data bases for answers. His fear and depression had been instantly lifted and he worked with the passion he was known for. Jack sat in Ricter's room for hours while the doctor studied hard.

"Sir?" Ricter asked.

"Yes?"

"I can't reverse the damage that has been done to them, the nerves have simply become too hyposensitive."

"So they are stuck like this forever?" Jack asked disheartened.

"The damage can't be reversed, but if we could find a way to safely raise their baseline emotional level they could function as if nothing was wrong."

"I don't understand."

"Right now it takes such a push to get them to feel emotion that it throws them over the edge, if they were near the threshold already then they'd be able to regulate and experience emotion as they once did...at least in theory."

"Okay, how do we 'raise their baseline safely'?"

"The only way to do it is if I had access to some of these Dragon Tears. Not the pheromone produced because of them, but the original Dragon Tears themselves."

"Then I'll get you some...even if I have to hurt a Dragon's feelings myself to do it."


	45. Chapter 45

Note from Phoenix: I'm very ill, I'm being treated for pneumonia. As a result I didn't actually read this (what's new). There is just one more chapter left!

Chapter Forty-five

"Please, please stop....please?"

Jack's quiet plea went unnoticed. Sighing heavily he held Sam tighter as she cried inconsolably. Jack looked around the infirmary, unsure of what to do. Struggling for breath against her tears Sam clutched Jack's shirt as though at any moment someone was going to tear her away from him. Jack rubbed between her shoulder blades, but it did little comfort her.

"Carter, I really don't know how to deal with you when you're like this."

"Sir?" Janet asked as she stepped into the infirmary. "What happened?"

"Nothing, she just won't stop."

"Jack informed us that he was leaving and she seems to have taken it personally." Daniel noted.

"I said I'd be back!" Jack protested.

"I just finished speaking with the General about your mission back to Bangkok." Janet said. "I have to admit that I discouraged him from letting you go..."

"Doc..."

"But of course that didn't change my mind." Hammond interrupted as he joined the group.

"Teal'c and I have a go?" Jack asked hopefully.

"Yes, just...be careful."

"Always."

"I need to go with you." Daniel said.

"Daniel?"

"I need to go with you."

"Not happening." Jack said firmly as Sam continued to cry on his chest.

"If you are to get anywhere on that planet you will need a translator and I'm the only one you've got for Japanese."

"What about Dave from SG-7?"

"Dave is Chinese." Daniel pointed out. "He's also from Chicago and only speaks English."

"Right. Still, you're not coming."

"Then you will fail."

"I wasn't really planing on asking any questions, this mission is going to be more of a grab and dash."

"Jack, we destroyed the Dragon Tears. To get more we will have to confront Ryūjin."

"Who?"

"The Goa'uld who developed them."

"Ah, right. You make a good point, Daniel, but what if you go all psycho on us again. It doesn't take much to set you off these days."

"True, but if you keep my hands tied behind my back I doubt I'd be able to cause much damage."

"Daniel," Janet said "your wrists are still healing."

"So modify the restraints I'm wearing now and hold me by the elbows. There is no sense in Jack and Teal'c risking their lives on Bangkok if I'm not there to tell them what is going on."

Jack looked to Hammond for help, but the General actually looked like he was falling into Daniel's logic trap. Janet stepped up and gave Sam a light sedative so that she'd release Jack from the death hold she had on him. Once the sedative took affect Sam lost interest in what was going on. Daniel also seemed disinterested one way or another.

"General?" Jack asked.

"Dr. Jackson has a valid point, but he will be just as much of a liability as an aid. In the end, it's your team, Colonel."

"Alright, Daniel, you can come, but if you end up forcing me to shoot you I want you to know that I will never forgive you."

"Understandable."

Jack shook his head, still not liking the circumstances. Half an hour later he was with Teal'c and Daniel on the Gate ramp waiting for it to dial. Daniel stood at Teal'c's side looking more like a prisoner of war than a team member. He wore a set of makeshift cuffs that encircled his upper arm and his elbows, the leather straps crossing over his back. Jack kept his field knife handy in case Daniel needed to be released in a hurry.

"Daniel, if you were attacked, would you defend yourself?" Jack asked.

"No."

"Great." Jack huffed. "This is a bad idea."

Teal'c nodded in agreement, but was still fully prepared to step through the Gate when it opened. Just as Jack had feared by the time the Gate did open Daniel had lost interest in what was going on and started to sit down on the ramp. Jack hauled him to his feet and together they returned to Bangkok.

"It would appear that this garden is no longer tended." Teal'c noted.

The once immaculate garden had been allowed to over grow and turn wild. As they made their way towards where the palace used to be Jack and Teal'c kept on high alert. When they reached the ashes of the burned palace they stopped and looked around.

"I guess they decided not to rebuild." Jack shrugged.

"Perhaps there are some Dragon Tears left in the ashes." Teal'c suggested.

"Good idea, T."

Jack lead the way towards the center of the burned out palace. They had to be careful since the floorboards were burnt out in some places. When they came to the center room where this all started Jack started to sift through the ashes. He got down on his knees and brushed the debris around. Teal'c joined him and they rummaged around. All they found was charcoal and broken glass.

"There is nothing here." Jack shook his head. "Well Daniel I guess you were ri..."

Jack stopped and looked around. Teal'c also became concerned and stood up looking around. Daniel was no where to be seen, he had wandered off. Jack got to his feet and looked around again.

"Oh for cry'in out..." Jack growled. "Daniel! Daniel!"

"Daniel Jackson!" Teal'c roared.

"He's not going to answer, is he?"

"I do not believe so. I am sorry, I should have been watching him."

"No more than I should have been." Jack admitted. "We just aren't used to him wandering off...wait, scratch that. He does this all the time."

"Daniel Jackson is in no condition to be on his own. He can not defend himself."

"Don't be so sure about that. But, come on, we need to find him."

Jack brought his P90 back into position he headed off in a random direction in search of Daniel. Teal'c stopped Jack and pointed out a set of prints in the ashes. Jack looked at the distance between each track.

"Was he running?"

"It would appear so." Teal'c nodded.

"We were so worried about him going into a rage that we didn't even think about him becoming fearful."

"Indeed."

"Alright, let's go get him and go home."

Jack and Teal'c broke into a trot and followed Daniel's tracks. They lead away from the burned palace and into the bamboo forest. Once in the woods Daniel was harder to trace him. However, Teal'c was an expert and picked up his trail once again. Jack and Teal'c came to a stand still when the forest opened up and revealed a small house.

"Daniel Jackson's trail enters that home."

"Of course it does." Jack sighed. "Let's go."

They crept up on the entrance slowly with their weapons raised. Jack peeked inside and his breath hissed across his teeth. Daniel was kneeling on the floor with Ryūjin standing in front of him. She had released him from his restraints. She ran her hands through Daniel's hair and he leaned his head back and groaned.

Jack flicked off his safety and singled to Teal'c to cover his back. Storming into the simple, one room home Jack held his weapon high. The Goa'uld looked up at him and when she saw the gun and the staff weapon aimed at her she made a surprising move. Ryūjin stepped in front of Daniel to shield him from the weapons.

"Get away from him!" Jack barked. "Daniel, tell her to get on her knees now."

"No."

"Dani..."

Ryūjin responded in a low voice in a language Jack didn't understand.

"'Please, I wish only to help him'." Daniel translated directly. "'He is badly injured, I can help him'."

"Daniel, get on your feet and get away from her. I can't risk having you in the cross fire."

"No. Jack, she can help me, she has already removed my fear."

"She started all of this!"

"Trust her."

"Never!"

"Then trust me."

Jack balked at this and turned to look at Teal'c. There was no question in Jack's mind that Teal'c was all for just killing the dragon Goa'uld. However, she had made no moves to attack anyone, she wasn't even wearing a hand device. Daniel's attention suddenly drifted away. Jack shook his head sadly and lowered his weapon. Ryūjin bowed deeply and muttered something.

"She says 'thank you'."

Jack exchanged a nervous glance with Teal'c as Ryūjin knelt down in front of Daniel. She asked him something and he lifted his hands up for her. The Goa'uld carefully unwrapped the bandages that encircled Daniel's wrist. Jack winced at the sight of the gory flesh underneath. The skin graft that Janet had placed over the chemical burns was not surviving. When Ryūjin touched the exposed flesh Daniel whimpered in pain.

Jack was sure he had heard wrong, but the tone in the Goa'uld's voice after hurting Daniel sounded apologetic. She reached into a hidden pocket on the large modest kimono that she was wearing and pulled out a small device. The device fit onto her finger like a ring.

"That is a healing device." Teal'c informed. "It would seem that she is planing to make good on her promise."

"Right, she wants him healthy enough to breed."

"I do not believe so, she is all alone here."

"Just stay ready to kill her if we need to."

"Of course."

Ryūjin did not pay any attention to the men talking behind her back. Taking one of Daniel's hands the Goa'uld began to heal the devastating wound. Having fixed one side she concentrated on the other. Soon both wrists were free of both injury and scaring, there was no evidence that anything had occurred. She turned and spoke to Jack.

"She says that if either one of you has any pain she will gladly remove it." Daniel said.

"Why is she helping us?"

Daniel turned to Ryūjin and they had a lengthy conversation.

"She is now the healer of this world. She has set all her subjects free and they return to her when they need help. Despite her previous life she is now happy with a quite life of contemplation."

"Yeah, I see that." Jack rolled his eyes. "What I want to know is why."

Daniel relayed the message to the Goa'uld and she spoke once again.

"She does not know why. After the fire she returned to see if anything could be saved. Afterward she simply began devoting her life to compassion."

"O'Neill," Teal'c broke in "I believe that Ryūjin is a victim of her own Dragon Tears. When she returned she must have come in contact with the Tears that have turned her into the creature we see now."

"That's...odd. Shouldn't a Goa'uld be able to heal herself of such a drug?"

Daniel assumed this question was directed at him to ask Ryūjin.

"Ryūjin says that she does not wish to heal herself, she enjoys this feeling. She has found a peace in this lifestyle that she had never known before."

"I see." Jack said, still distrusting it.

When Jack did not continue to speak with him Daniel lost interest and stared off into space. Although his wrists had been healed he still held no emotion. Jack shifted his weight for a moment as he made a decision.

"Daniel?"

"Yes?"

"Can you ask her to heal your mind?"

"I don't understand, I am in no more pain."

"I know, but you're still not well. Just ask her."

"Very well."

Daniel asked Ryūjin to help him further. At first she did not understand, but she reached out and brushed his temple with the healing device anyway. Jack held his breath, hoping this would work. After a full minute of waiting Daniel's eyes suddenly snapped into true focus. Looking up at Jack a genuine smile spread across Daniel's face.

"You back, Daniel?"

"I think so." He turned to Ryūjin. "_Thank you_."

_"Of course, Daniel. I am deeply sorry for all the trouble that I have caused. I wish for your forgiveness."_

_ "You have it."_

_ "You would have made a powerful Dragon Tear." _ Ryūjin smiled sadly. _"Although I am pleased that I did not attempt to take your capacity for forgiveness away from you."_

_ "What do you mean?"_

_"To make Dragon Tears you must first find someone who exemplifies the emotion that you wish to harness. It took me a lifetime to create my collection because there are some emotions that simply do not drive men the same way that others do."_

_ "Why were you collecting them in the first place?"_

_ "Because to harness emotion is to hold the ultimate power. Once I had a full collection I was going to use it to rise above all the other System Lords."_

_ "What are your plans now?"_

_ "I wish only to live the rest of my life in peace here."_

_ "Sounds like a plan."_ Daniel smiled. _ "I don't suppose you could create more of the Dragon Tears that have made you this way, maybe the other System Lords could learn to live in peace."_

_ "No."_ Ryūjin shook her head. _"To create Dragon Tears I would have to take the life of a man driven by compassion, one such as yourself."_

_ "I would give my life to stop the Goa'uld without further blood shed."_

_ "And your Tears would be powerful, however, I can no longer even imagine harming another living creature even for the greatest of causes."_

_ "I understand."_

_ "I knew you would."_

_ "I have another favour to ask you." _Daniel said.

_"Name it."_

_ "I have a friend who is very sick. She needs your help."_

_ "Then bring her to me."_

_ "Thank you."_

Daniel gave Ryūjin a shallow bow and got to his feet. He walked over to Jack and threw his arms around him in a warm hug.

"Oh great, now you're over the edge the other way." Jack grumbled.

"No." Daniel shook his head. "I'm just glad to see you, and glad that I can appreciate it."

"What about Carter?"

"Ryūjin has already agreed to help her."

"I can't say I like it, but if it will get Carter back I guess we have no choice. Okay, Kids, let's go back and get her."

"Actually, Jack, I'd like to stay and talk with Ryūjin for a while. I think there is a lot we can learn from her."

"Alright fine...one more night in Bangkok."

"And not a second more." Daniel chuckled.

"Exactly."


	46. Chapter 46

NOTE from the PHOENIX: Once again I want to thank all my readers for coming along with me on this crazy ride! Without you guys these stories would never be written, you all make me strive to do my best. HUGS! I never meant for this story to get as long or as complicated as it did, but I had a lot of fun. Don't worry all you loyal watchers, I've got another story whirring around in my head as well speak....

Epilogue

Ella fussed around the house with a duster while a rain storm lashed at the windows. She picked up an old photo in a silver frame and absentmindedly dusted it off. When she went to put it down the photo the young man in the image smiled up at her. Staring into the photo she sighed heavily.

Taking the photo with her she wandered over to the couch and sat down with it. Closing her eyes against the sting of tears she put the photo down on the coffee table. It had been more than twenty years, and yet on some days the pain was as fresh as the day it happened. Giving up on dusting Ella wandered off into the kitchen for a glass of water.

Half way to the kitchen the front door bell rang. Turning around she went to answer it. Opening the door she found a man soaked to the skin standing in her door way. He kept his gaze fixed to the floor, making her nervous.

"Ca...can I help you?" Ella asked.

Still standing in the rain he looked up at her, at a lose for words. Ella knit her brow together as she studied his face. When he didn't say anything she tensed and began wondering if she could close and lock the door faster than he could stop her. When she glanced over at the phone in the hallway the stranger took a step back.

"I...I'm sorry." He apologized. "I shouldn't have bothered you."

Ella's breath hissed across her teeth at hearing his voice. He flashed her a sad smile before turning around to leave. Shaking heavily she watched him go, unable to believe what her heart was telling her.

"A...Adrien?" Ella whispered. "Adrien, is that you?"

Adrien turned around and smiled sheepishly. Having seen his smile Ella knew she couldn't be wrong. Rushing out into the rain she threw her arms around him in a powerful embrace. Returning the hug gently Adrien closed his eyes and enjoyed the feel of her body against his. He held her closer as she began crying.

"I never believed it," Ella sobbed "I never truly believed you were gone."

"I'm so sorry."

"What happened? Where have you been?"

"It's a long story."

"Come inside, I want to know, tell me everything."

"No, I should go." Adrien pulled away. "You have a new life now, I shouldn't have come here..."

"Perhaps not, but you are here."

"Ella..."

"Besides, I'm babysitting someone who would very much like to meet you."

Adrien's face light up at the prospect of meeting his grandson. Ella smiled brightly and took his hand as she guided him inside the house. On their way to the bedroom she grabbed a pair of towels for them to dry off with. Stepping into the bedroom Adrien waked over to the crib that had been set up in the corner.

The young boy was sleeping on his side peacefully. At just over a year old he kicked in his sleep at some unknown dream. Not wanting to wake him Adrien simply reached down and brushed his cheek. Young Adrien instantly settled down and slipped into a deeper sleep.

Ella stepped up and put her arms around Adrien's waist. He smiled brightly and brushed away the tears that had slipped down his face. He looked at Ella and found that she was staring at him. He wanted more than anything to kiss her, but he knew that she had someone else in her life now. Ella didn't seem to have the same reservations as he did and she pushed herself up on her tiptoes to kiss him.

Taken by surprise at first Adrien didn't know how to respond. However after the initial shock he returned the kiss with the passion for her that he'd been carrying for twenty years. Breaking free Ella rested her head against his chest and sighed contently.

"This must be a dream."

"No," Adrien shook his head "it's the end of a nightmare."

"As long as it's real, that's all I care."

"I wish I could assure that it is, but I'm a little uncertain myself." Adrien looked back down on his sleeping grandson. "He's as beautiful as his mother."

"Our daughter is pregnant again, with another boy."

"Does she have a name in mind yet?"

"No."

"I wonder if she'd be open to a suggestion."

"Do you have one?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do..."


End file.
